Miraculous Nature of the Heart
by Spiritseer245
Summary: This is going to be my first series of one shots. Mostly Adrien centric for now. They will center around a family theme among other things. I love stories that have a family theme. I hope you enjoy these stories. Rating may change as I write new chapters.
1. I Want to Shelter You

**I came up with this story after listening to Imagine Dragon Demons. I can see Gabriel being described by song. It fits him. As for the rest. I can't help but feel that Adrien did have a loving home life with his parents, with Gabriel before Emilie's accident. They may have been over protective, but they did love him, they adored him really. I feel like they were all close. Why else would Adrien be so hurt by his dad's dismissal in the show? He's sad and disappointed because his relationship with his father hadn't always been strained.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, all rights belong to Thomas and his team of Miraculous creators.**

Gabriel had never thought that he'd have the chance to hold Adrien like this ever again. His latest akuma was a distraught mother who got into an argument with her daughter. Her ability was to regress the ages of her victims, she wanted her daughter to be a child for just a little longer. The designer knew the pain of your child getting older, of your child not wanting to do as they were told. Though Adrien wasn't at the state of disobedience, in fact, Adrien submitted most of the time.

Unless, it was something he felt was important to him.

Now Gabriel was sitting on the couch in Adrien's room. His son had fallen victim to the attack, but thankfully had only been regressed to the age of a six year old. Gabriel hadn't realized how much he had missed this stage of Adrien's life. The finger painting, the silly games, the absolute admiration that his son had for him. The boy would hang off of his every word and tell him everything that came to mind.

And no secrets were kept.

Upon seeing his villain turn his son into a child, Gabriel couldn't help but recall her akuma to keep it in a safer place. He would have to return the woman's powers eventually and make an attempt to get the miraculouses, but Gabriel _needed_ this. The man wouldn't be ashamed to say this is the happiest he'd been since Emilie's accident. Adrien was snuggled close to his chest, sleeping blissfully unaware of the troubles of the world. It seemed as if the spell had taken Adrien's memories. He only remembered his life up to six years old.

Gabriel was thankful for the small blessings.

He would feel bad telling Adrien a lie about where his mother was. But he's been lying about what has _really_ happened to her for a year now, another merciful lie wasn't going to be any worse. If he asked he was to be told that she was away on business. While he was a bit disappointed, at least Adrien would be spared from the truth. Gabriel looked down at his son who curled into a tighter ball. Tiny little arms looped around Gabriel's waist possessively. It was almost as if Adrien subconsciously thought he'd disappear.

The designer let his hand run through the boy's hair and sighed. It really had been a long time.

"I know I'm going to have to let my akuma finish its work." Gabriel spoke aloud, Adrien had always been a heavy sleeper as a child, so his confession wouldn't be heard. "I need Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Once I get them, everything will be better. I promise."

Gabriel didn't like having to keep secrets from his son, he didn't like creating villains that endangered his son. It was all for a greater purpose. Adrien would understand what he was doing. Though, with how much Adrien admires Ladybug, Gabriel doubted he'd want to help. The reflection of the computer monitor in the window reminded the man of that. A picture of the elusive heroin had managed to make it on the screen saver along with the boy's mother.

Regardless if Adrien wanted to help or not, Gabriel didn't want his son involved. It not only kept him innocent to the man's crimes should Gabriel be caught, it also kept the boy from suffering with a guilty heart. Adrien was too good, too perfect to be tainted like this. Gabriel knew the things he was doing was changing him. He was becoming a different person due to his actions.

He was cruel, he was angry, he was mean. Worst of all, he even acted that way to his own son.

"I'm sorry Adrien." he kissed the top of his son's head. "I know I haven't been there for you, things have changed so much. But I..."

Gabriel paused and looked out Adrien's windows. It wasn't the first time he had realized that they resembled jail bars. Was that why Adrien was always so desperate to escape his room? So desperate to be anywhere but home? The man tried to shove those thoughts from his mind and look at what had caught his attention. In spite of the inky darkness outside the window, Gabriel could see a feminine silhouette pacing on the rooftop across the street.

Ladybug?

Grey eyes squinted in confusion. He knew that Ladybug cared about those she had been charged with protecting by the guardian of the miraculous. But why was she hovering outside their home? Maybe she suspected he was Hawkmoth. Or maybe, Gabriel looked down at Adrien's peaceful face, she had feelings for his son? If that were true, he literally was holding leverage over Ladybug. But could he really go so far as to choose to put Adrien in direct danger once again?

Eventually his luck would run out.

Riposte was willing to kill the boy over a mistake, Gorizilla dropped him off a skyscraper, and Style Queen nearly tuned Adrien into gold dust. That wasn't even counting his classmates becoming villains or even Vulpina who had sought after the boy. Gabriel sighed and tightened his grip on his son. He really had become a terrible father.

Even if he couldn't see her face, Gabriel could feel her eyes on him. Could she feel his eyes on her too? Ladybug must have noticed him watching her because she swung off as quickly as she came. He'd get those earrings, Chat Noir's ring, he'd have them all. He promised Emilie he'd save her, bring her back to them.

He promised her so many things. And he aimed to make them a reality.

"Daddy?" Adrien had woken up. He tiredly rubbed his green eyes and eased himself out of Gabriel's lap. "What happened?"

A loving smile came to Gabriel's face as he noticed a stream of drool that had snuck from Adrien's mouth. With a chuckle Gabriel wiped it away with his thumb. "Well, Mr. Agreste. After consuming and obscene amount of cookies and juice, you proceeded to have a sugar rush and then, after an hour of tag, you fell asleep in the hallway."

"Oh." It seemed rubbing his eyes hadn't erased any of his drowsiness. Adrien lost his energy and promptly snuggled back into his father's chest. "I like playing tag with you, papa..."

It didn't take long for the exhausted boy to fall asleep once again. Gabriel cocooned his son in his arms and rested his chin on the top of Adrien's blond hair. _Tomorrow_ , Gabriel decided as he looked at the night sky _I'll send the akuma back out tomorrow._ A painful feeling tugged at Gabriel's heart, he kind of didn't want to go back to his 'secret mission'. Would it be a crime if he had another day to enjoy spending time with his son?

Pushing Adrien away had been his punishment for what had happened to Emilie. He couldn't protect her, so he didn't deserve their son. Right? He was unworthy of spending time with Emilie's son. That was why he had been keeping Adrien at a distance. Gabriel knew it made Adrien feel disposed of, but Gabriel just couldn't be so selfish with his son. He barely deserved the time he allotted himself to have with Adrien.

He could tell, by the way Adrien's face lit up at the sight of him, the boy craved the attention.

"I love you, son." Gabriel sighed as he reclined back on the couch. It had been a long time since he last slept on a couch, not since his early days as a designer. When he thought about Adrien's current predicament. His son being half the age he was supposed to be, Gabriel did feel guilty. "It seems that I protect you from everything except myself."

Looking up at Adrien's ceiling, the shadows of the window frame stretched across his field of vision. They were just like prison bars the man remembered. _Does Adrien think of this room as a prison?_ Gabriel could feel his eyes getting heavy, Adrien's soft breathing was making him sleepy. One night on the couch wouldn't hurt him. He didn't have the heart to leave Adrien alone. Gabriel also knew he didn't have the will to keep away tonight. Tonight he'd be selfish and just hold his son.

"I'm sorry, Emilie. I can't be strong right now." His eyes slipped shut and he let himself fall asleep.

It was the best night's sleep he had gotten in a year.


	2. A Brother's Nature

**We all know how protective Nino can be of his friends. Remember when he got mad at Gabriel for not allowing Adrien to have a birthday party? We've seen how protective our favorite bro can get over Adrien. I hope you enjoy this story.**

 **I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, All rights belong to Thomas and his team.**

Nino didn't consider himself an excitable person. He was usually chilled and easy going, things usually rolled off his back like water on a turtle's shell. The teen wasn't sure when he had become so fiercely protective of his loved ones. Maybe it was the moment he had kindled a friendship with Adrien. It would explain why he had become so indignant with Mr. Agreste and his attitude about Adrien

Or maybe he had always been protective, and he just never had anyone he felt he needed to be protective of.

Both Adrien and Alya seemed to awaken his fierceness. Normally, Nino tried to keep himself out of the typical school drama. He didn't want to be apart of it, nor did he want to end up being akumatized again. He typically ignored other groups of people, especially when they were talking bad about another student. He just didn't want to know their opinions.

It was a day like any other. There was a short intermission between classes, so the teen decided he could use a walk. Adrien had a photoshoot so his dad pulled him from school early for it. It sucked not having his best bro with him, but Nino knew that his friend had no choice. He also knew how much Adrien hoped his father would give him approval.

Nino was doing his best to make it through the boring ten minute break without Adrien to keep him company. He decided that he'd just go back to the classroom and listen to music while he waited. That's when he heard something that made his blood boil.

"What makes Adrien Agreste so great?" Someone grumbled. Nino froze mid step and tucked his head farther under his cap. "He's just another rich kid like Chloe."

Another person scoffed, "I bet he pays everyone in his class to like him."

"If we're lucky his over-protective daddy will finally withdraw him from the school."

This wasn't the first time Nino had seen other's judging his best friend. They were especially nasty on the internet, anonymity made people brave. Or just cruel. The teen wasn't new to the idea of celebrities having their own hate group that was just a dedicated as their fanbase. Luckily, Adrien's dad never let the teen be on too many websites, especially not the ones with strangers professing their hate for him. Maybe wanting Adrien to be happy was the only thing Gabriel Agreste and Nino had in common.

Their methods and ideas on how to do that were very different, however.

"Ugh, he's going to be back in school tomorrow." one of them whined. "Maybe their will be an akuma to finally get rid of the brat."

Nino grit his teeth and tried to remind himself that Adrien wasn't here to hear it. Then, they did something that he found absolutely unforgiveable. They headed up stairs to the classroom, his and Adrien's classroom. The very place he had just been heading. Nino didn't know what the group was up to. They stopped at the desk he shared with Adrien.

"Maybe this'll make the wimp leave our school." The group went to work writing on the desk in marker. Nino could just make out the beginning of the word 'loser' before he let loose.

"HEY!" he shouted with a fierceness he'd never heard come from his own mouth before. "KNOCK IT OFF!"

The group of bullies looked up at him with evil grins. All tossing aside their markers as if they hadn't just turned Adrien's desk into their own personal comment section. He vaguely heard Alya call his name as she too entered the room. But for once, Nino couldn't bring himself to turn and grin at her. These, jerks, were trying to hurt his best friend.

"Alya?" Marinette's voice also chimed in. "What's going on?"

The leader of the bully grabbed a marker and wrote one more word on Adrien's desk, as if he were untouchable. "Just telling rich kid what we think of him."

"You've said enough." Nino growled. "How about you get out of here?"

"Make sure he gets this message from us, will ya?" The leader walked towards the tan teen and stuffed the marker into Nino's clenched fist. "I know you won't be getting a pay check from him if he leaves, but we'd all be better off without Adrien Agreste."

Nino couldn't tell you what he had done. Alya said he had decked the guy, but it was all a blank. When he came back to reality, the bully was on the ground clutching his nose. His group of cronies gathered around him and picked him up off the floor. The leader of the group glared at Nino when he was finally back on his feet.

"You'll pay for that...You and that blond brat."

Before Nino knew what he was doing, he yanked the guy by the front of his shirt. Once they were face to face, Nino spoke with deadly calmness. "You leave Adrien Agreste alone, if I _ever_ hear you talk bad about him, or you are doing this stuff to him again, you'll pay."

The group of bullies stumble out yelping as they ran away.

"Oh," Nino could hear the tears in Marinette's voice. "How could they say such awful things about Adrien?"

It was the first time Nino could see the full extent of the bullies hate. _'You should leave the school' 'Loser' 'brat' 'nobody likes you' 'you should die, Agreste' 'Go back to being homeschooled'._ That was a lot of hate to spew about someone they barely knew. Again, for once it was a good thing Gabriel had taken out of the school for the day.

"I'll take a picture for proof, but we should clean it up." Alya muttered. Her voice was softer and quieter than he had ever heard. "Let's never tell Adrien."

"Never tell Adrien what?" Nino felt his heart sink. He looked at Marinette, they needed someone to distract Adrien.

"Marinette, you need to get him away from here." Nino told her under his breath. She looked at him with blue eyes brimming with tears. "He doesn't need to see this."

Adrien gave a nervous laugh as he shuffled by the door. "Uh, the photoshoot ended early, so my dad let me come back to school."

 _The one time his dad should have kept him at home._ The teen thought bitterly.

Looking over his shoulder, Nino could see Adrien was making his way towards them. Blissfully unaware of what jealous people thought of him. Nino couldn't let Adrien see what those monsters wrote about him. He quickly shoved Marinette at the blond. The girl gave a surprise squeak as she barreled into the model's chest. Adrien was a bit surprised, but he caught her without hesitation.

"Uhhh?" Nino tried to think of some lame excuse to get Adrien out of the room. "Marinette was going to run to the bakery and bring some snacks for the class, she may need some help. Don't worry we'll tell the teacher what you're doing."

Marinette's face went red, Nino wasn't sure if it was because she was going to be alone with Adrien, or the fact he volunteered her for a snack run. Of course he'd tell the teacher what was actually going on. She wouldn't be too mad, at them at least. With her efforts to prevent more students from becoming akumas, she'd understand. When both Adrien and Marinette hadn't moved yet, Alya took it upon herself to usher them out.

"Make sure to pick up some cinnamon rolls for me." She winked as she shut the door behind them.

Nino sighed as he draped himself over the desk as if he were still shielding Adrien from the words. He could hardly believe people hated Adrien so much. He thought back to their comments, most of them complained about him being rich. They _were_ jealous of Adrien, but Nino could never be. He knew what kind of life Adrien lived. Adrien was always locked away, sheltered and never given a chance to just be a kid outside his bedroom. The school was the first inch of freedom he'd been given his whole life.

Alya gave his shoulder a squeeze, "Are you okay, babe?"

"No." He sighed as he pulled his hat off. "Adrien really doesn't deserve this."

Nino stood straight and waved a hand to the crude words scrawled onto Adrien's desk. It was just too much to take. He knew Adrien was strong, he wouldn't be torn down by this. Though, Nino hated the idea of him being hurt. Alya gave him a nudge and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"You're a good friend." She told him as she kissed him on the cheek. "He's lucky to have someone like you look out for him."


	3. Fix my Broken Heart

**This is based off the idea that Natalie is in love with Gabriel. Post reveal. How is she going to feel when Emilie is back? Obviously Gabriel loves his wife far more than he'll ever love Natalie. What would happen if one day, the pain became too much for her?**

 **It may be a little sad, but please tell me what you think.**

 **Disclaimer, I unfortunately don't own the Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. All rights belong to Thomas and his team.**

They say love makes one do crazy things. It makes you climb mountains, cross rivers, kidnap their son. It wasn't that Natalie had planned on stealing Adrien away. She had picked him up at school and just hadn't found the will to return to the mansion. In fact, she was driving out of the city of Paris before she knew it. Adrien slept blissfully in the back seat of the car.

The boy had a busy day and had fallen asleep quite quickly, his kwammi fell asleep on his head.

A few months ago, she would have jumped at the opportunity to capture the tiny creature. Anything to make Gabriel happy. Now, now that Emilie was awake and the Agreste family was whole once more, things were different. Gabriel had even returned both the miraculous he had to the guardian. Hawkmoth was no more.

 _They_ were no more.

Not that there was actually anything going on between them. Gabriel was too in love with his wife to notice her at his side. As much as she wanted...as much as she needed him to love her, it was impossible. She knew that she was never going to be the woman he loved. Every time he came close to giving up on Emilie, her hope would soar. Now it was nothing but a torn dream.

Her buzzing phone startled her. It had only been an hour and a half since she was supposed to have Adrien home, but both of the boy's parents were blowing up her voicemail. She had counted at least twenty calls, this next one was the twenty-first. Natalie bit her lip and quickly rejected the call. The teen shifted in the back of her car. When she looked in the rear view mirror, she saw him sigh as his face pressed into the door.

She knew she should turn back and return Adrien home as promised, but if she couldn't have Gabriel, she wanted to have a piece of him.

The sun was starting to set, a red hue filled the cab of the car. It was getting late. Adrien should be home right now eating dinner with his family. She remembered the goofy grin the teen had gotten when he saw his mom and dad sitting at the table with him. After over a year's worth of lonely dinners, God knew the boy deserved to be smothered with love from his family.

If Natalie kept driving, how long before the boy had his next family dinner.

Was Adrien hungry? She looked at the boy with the rearview mirror again. He was _really_ tired. Since his schedule was no longer tightly managed, Adrien had begun to spread himself rather sporadically. And when he made it clear Chat Noir was non-negotiable to his parents, he was also still saddled with his duties as a super hero. It was a lot for a teen boy to manage; friends, modeling, fencing, piano, mandarin lessons, school, _and_ being a superhero, all the while he made time for his family. Adrien really was an amazing kid.

The next time her phone rang, Natalie had noticed the city of Paris had disappeared from the rearview mirrors. They were actually getting into rural areas where there were less people. Sighing, the secretary pulled to the side of the road to answer the phone. She got out of the car and stood at the door. Hesitating before she finally answered.

"Natalie?" his voice came over the line like a whip. The voice she normally enjoyed to hear sounded full of fury. "Where is _my_ _son_?"

She bit her lip, her eyes went from the darkening sky to the boy still asleep in the back seat of her car. Natalie could lie, say she got detoured and they'd be home as soon as possible. The woman could hang up the phone and never look back. But then what? Adrien wouldn't be easy to control. Even without the super powers, the teen was smart and as quick as a bullet.

She could take the ring and even the odds, but could she really do that to him?

"NATALIE!" Gabriel snapped, his voice became so loud she had to pull the phone away from her ear. "Where are...?"

She ended the call and threw the phone to the ground, the sound of shattering glass brought a deafening silence. Natalie's hand hovered over her mouth in horror. Was she really doing this? Was she really going to take Adrien to spite Gabriel? In the car, Adrien still showed no sign of waking, sleeping like a perfect little Angel. The woman slowly slid down the side of the car, pressing her face into her hands in disbelief.

"I should turn back." She told herself. "I _need_ to take him back."

The secretary looked at the long road behind her. She had been driving like a woman possessed, she could hardly remember much about the ride at all. Natalie wouldn't be able to recognize anything she had gone past. She could make a U-turn and go back to Paris. Return the boy and come up with some sort of excuse. Maybe just say nothing and resign as the man's secretary.

She could see it on her reference papers now. _'Warning: is known to kidnap bosses children_ '

The buzzing of a car window rolling down caught Natalie's attention. Adrien peeked his sleepy head out of the back window, Plagg was still contently asleep on the boy's blond hair. "Natalie, where are we?"

"Don't worry, Adrien." She told him. "We'll be home soon."

He blinked against the sun in his face, "Oh...okay?"

Adrien had been too tired to question her farther, he simply slumped over and sprawled himself into a more comfortable position on the back seats. It made her heart ache to see how much he still trusted her. The boy really was too forgiving and too naïve. He should be concerned about the unfamiliar surroundings, about her acting unprofessional and standing outside of the car. She wasn't sure if his innocence was a good or bad thing about his parent's years of sheltering.

After a long moment, Natalie climbed back into the car. She had left it running so Adrien would have the heat to keep him warm. The colder seasons were rushing on them. With everything he was going through, Adrien couldn't afford to be sick. And if she kept going strait ahead, she couldn't afford for him to get sick. The sun was nearly gone and the road was rather baron. Natalie easily merged back onto the street and rebegan her drive.

Since the phone was broken, she was no longer receiving calls. But it seemed that Gabriel had remembered Adrien had a phone. Luckily it was still on silent mode as per his school setting, but that didn't mean the buzzing wouldn't wake the boy. Natalie reached back for Adrien's bag. She had to stop the phone's buzzing before it woke the teen up. The woman hadn't even decided what she wanted to do yet.

His phone going off only seemed to make her feel more panicked.

When she finally grabbed the noisy little device she refrained from crying in triumph. She figured it was Gabriel, but she was surprised when the Dupan-Chang girl showed up on the caller ID. Natalie rejected the call and put the phone in the center council. She wasn't sure if Adrien's girlfriend would be as hostile as the boy's father, but she wasn't sure she wanted to find out either.

Natalie nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone gave a buzz indicating a text message.

 _Bring him back._ Appeared on the preview bar.

Part of Natalie wanted to answer, wanted to say ' _no'_ she would not be bringing Adrien home. At least she didn't want to give him back. The last year she had done more than fallen in love with Gabriel. She had also begun to like the idea of having Adrien as her son. For the last year, she had been taking care of him. Maybe not in the traditional sense as a mother would, but it was hard not to get attached when you take care of someone, especially if they were a kind, precious teenager.

The phone buzzed again. Please.

Again.

 _Natalie, Gabriel's offering money_.

Again

 _He'll give you anything_.

Again.

 _Why are you doing this?_

Again.

 _Please. Don't do this._

It was almost enough to drive Natalie crazy. That girl was persistent, desperate even. Natalie realized with a start that she was almost the same. Though, maybe Marinette wasn't as off kilter as the woman was. She doubted the teen would ever kidnap someone to get what she wanted.

"Are you going to answer her? Or should I?" Adrien asked softly. Startled, Natalie pulled off the road in a hurry. A car that had been behind her blared its horn before speeding past. The dust from the road's shoulder pelted furiously against the car.

"Adrien, you should go back to sleep." She told the boy firmly. "We'll be home soon."

Adrien stuck his head between the two front seats. "Will we? Because I think Paris is all the way back there."

Adrien pointed a thin finger in the general direction of Paris. He didn't seem scared, or mad, or anything of the sort. It almost reminded her of Gabriel. Only, Adrien came off less cold than his father. Natalie recognized the look on the teen's face, it was the same look he'd been wearing while his mother had been missing. The gentle frown of disappointment and genuine sadness.

"You do realize what's happening here?" She questioned as he climbed over the center council and into the passenger seat. "How long?"

Adrien gave her a soft smile, "I checked my voicemails when you stopped a while back. It was my mom, she was frantic and demanding I give her a call. Dad called too. So did Nino, Alya, and Marinette. I kind of had an idea of what you were doing."

"And you did nothing to stop me?" Natalie felt as if her eyes were bugging out of her head. "Why? Don't you realize how much danger you're in?"

The teen giggled, it was almost as if she had just told him a very funny joke. It was a nice laugh, the kind that made one remember the simple times. She wished the boy would take it more seriously. She was kidnapping him. Wasn't she? Could it count as kidnapping if he let it happen? If he was willingly coming along?

"I'm not in any danger." He replied and reached for his phone. Natalie snatched it up before he could.

With the phone held close to her chest she gave him her firmest look, "You sure?"

"Positive." Adrien quipped. He didn't look the least bit concerned, not even when the phone gave another frantic buzz. Natalie glanced at the glowing screen.

 _Natalie, please, return Adrien. I'm begging you, don't hurt him._

"Marinette, she loves you very much." Natalie noted almost sadly. She could see various texts from his friends cluttering the screen. "All of them are worried about you. You knew what I was doing. Why didn't you try to stop me?"

Adrien's green eyes sparkled in the soft light coming from the dashboard. There was something almost other-wordily about him. And for a moment, she could see _exactly_ what Gabriel did when looking at his son. The phone buzzed again, but she made no move to look at it this time. In spite of everything he'd been through, Adrien looked like the same bright-boy she had met a year ago.

"I want to give you the chance to do the right thing." He told her. "Everyone deserves the chance to fix their mistakes."

Natalie looked back at the road awaiting them. "And if I choose to keep going? If you have to stop me?"

"I won't have to."

"How can you be so sure?" The woman demanded. "I've already kidnapped you, I worked with your father to terrorize Paris! I'm a dangerous person, Adrien, you can't trust me."

He merely leaned back in his seat, looking like a regular kid going on a road trip. Times like these made Natalie think that Adrien was an old soul in a young boy's body. How could someone so young be so at peace with those who have wronged him? She once again glanced back at the road, then at the boy. His kwamii was still perched in his hair, snoozing away without a care in the world. Plagg didn't even seem to be concerned by the boy's apparent kidnapping.

"I trust you." Natalie heard Adrien mummer. His eyes fluttered shut. How tired was this kid? "You'll make the right choice."

With Adrien apparently falling asleep and willing to let her choose, Natalie felt a block of ice form in her stomach. She looked down to the boy's ring. All she had to do was take it and Adrien would be helpless. He'd have to do as she said. Without his kwamii to help him, all she'd have to do was keep driving until they were far, far, far, from Paris. They'd have to hide in the country, Adrien would be easy to recognize. She'd have to lock him up in the house.

For how long?

That was no life for him.

Natalie looked away from the ring and pressed her face woefully into the steering wheel. This kid. If she took him back, he'd have a normal life, but she'd never get to see him or Gabriel ever again. It'd be more upon Gabriel's order than the boy's choice. How could she have messed up so royally? What had possessed her to even attempt to take him?

She knew what she had to do.

…...

The drive back to Paris was long and tiresome. Adrien had really fallen back to sleep, so he offered no company. She wondered if he'd go on patrol with Ladybug as soon as she got him home. Upon arriving at the Agreste manor, there were news trucks and police cars parked out front. A crowd of people bombarding the place, though no one could get past the gated entryway. Luckily, Natalie still had her remote for the gate. It opened slowly and gave a bellowing whine as it did so.

Natalie's dread grew as she pulled up to the grand steps of the mansion.

She didn't even have time to put the car in park before Emilie came running out of the house. The woman's blond hair was a mess, flying all over the place as she galloped down the steps. Before Natalie could unlock the car, Emilie was frantically trying to force the passenger door open. Of course, every time she did so, the door couldn't unlock. She eventually calmed down enough to let Natalie unlock it.

Adrien was half-awake by the time his mother got the door open. He gave a surprised yelp as his mom pulled him from the car and into her protective arms. His kwamii was shaken from his perch, Plagg gave a groan before diving into the boy's shirt pocket. Natalie watched as the woman showered the boy's face in kisses, almost as if she had thought she'd lost him forever. When Emilie finally looked at Natalie, her pretty face was contorted into a soft-glare. Like Adrien, she was never one to become absolutely furious when wronged by another.

"Gabriel would like to give you a chance to explain yourself." She told Natalie.

Adrien quickly jumped to her defense. "Mom, I was perfectly safe. Natalie would never hurt me. And we're home now, so everything's okay."

"Adrien. You're sweet." Natalie smiled at his efforts. "But that's not enough to stave off a concerned parent."

Gabriel appeared at the top of the steps, the light flooding out of the house made it hard for Natalie to see his face. She recognized the posture, however, she knew he was furious. The man was doing everything in his power to refrain from yelling. Emilie nodded towards the man curtly before she began to lead Adrien up the stairs. The blond woman wrapped her arm protectively around her son's shoulders, almost as if she were afraid he'd be taken away. The idling car behind her, reminded Natalie that she almost had done just that.

Adrien looked back at Natalie sadly. "Let me try to talk to my father...maybe I can explain to him..."

"No, Adrien. This is grown-up talk." She told him sadly. Natalie did her best to memorize the boy's face. Sure, it was plastered all over Paris, but the pictures held no flame to the real deal. "I need to face your father alone."

When they reached the top of the steps, Gabriel wasted no time pulling his family in for a hug. They were whole once more. She recognized the desperation in his actions. Natalie felt terrible, how could she do this to someone she loved? Before ushering the boy and his mother off, Gabriel gave Adrien yet another bone-crushing hug. Since Emilie had returned there was a lot more hugging in the house hold.

"Natalie. My office. Now." Gabriel hadn't yelled. No, this was much worse. It was his sharp angry voice. One that made her skin crawl uncomfortably. She had seen him mad, but never this mad.

Walking into the manor, Natalie felt like an intruder rather than a guest. It made her feel sick.

"ADREIN!" A familiar voice shouted. Marinette apparently had been at the house awaiting news. Her face was red from crying and her pigtails were a skewed mess. Emilie managed to side-step before the girl jumped into her son's arms. Natalie thought the teens were cute together. Marinette buried her face into his shoulder and sobbed. "I was so afraid, how did you get away? Did Plagg help?"

"No." He smiled. "Natalie brought me home."

Marinette looked up at him. "You mean you didn't even _try_ to defend yourself!"

Natalie heard him promise he was fine, that he was never in any danger before Gabriel pulled her into his office. The room was a mess. When Gabriel was really angry he tended to take it out on the things in here. It was rare for him to do so. She had really pushed his button. When it came to Adrien, the man was a papa bear for sure.

"Explain yourself. Now."

She took Adrien out of Paris without his parent's consent. How could she explain that?

"What is there to say? I took him, then I brought him back." Natalie brought back that professional, passionless voice she was used to using.

Gabriel grabbed her shoulders and shook her. A spark raced down the woman's arms from where he held her. " _Why_?"

"Because, Mr. Agreste…." She hesitated. "I was...hurt...I was angry. And I wanted you to feel the same. I have no reason to feel this way, but I do because..."

"Because?" Gabriel squinted at her. When Emilie had returned, the man had a certain life come to his eyes too. Now he looked as he had while his wife had been lost. " _Because?_ Natalie, whatever I've done to you should be discussed rationally. I doubt what I've done to you would warrant you taking my son."

Natalie had to look away from him. "No, it doesn't. What I've done has nothing to do with any actions you've taken against me. It has everything to do with me."

Gabriel pulled away from her and paced around his office. Her indirect answers were making him mad. She knew that. Natalie couldn't seem to say, _"It's because I'm in love with you"_. How could she say that to a happily married man? To a man who just got his family to be whole once more? She watched as he ran his hands through his hair. It was neat and well kempt, a complete contrast to his wife and Marinette.

"You need to give me a more substantial answer, Natalie." He sighed. "Otherwise, I will have to turn you over to the Police and they will decide what happens to you."

Natalie looked out at the flashing lights and still growing crowd. "Gabriel. It's hard for me to say. My reason hardly counts as an excuse for all the panic I've caused."

"Just tell me, Natalie." Gabriel's voice softened. "Adrien's taught me a lot about forgiveness. I'm willing to forgive you for this, I just need to know why."

"I love you." She spoke softly. Her voice was muffled by her hand covering her mouth. It seemed as if she were subconsciously still trying to hide it.

"What?" He asked. Natalie could imagine that look on his face, the one where he was trying to piece together what she had just said.

Natalie closed her eyes and steeled her resolve. She turned swiftly on her heel and looked at him strait in the eye. The woman could feel tears running down her face. "I love you, Gabriel Agreste. I've been in love with you for a while now. But I know you can't love me, you'll never love me. Because you have her. She's amazing and I can't compete with that. I never planned on taking Adrien, I just couldn't bring myself to stop the car. And that son of yours is something else. He didn't even try to stop me, even when he knew what I was doing."

All of her thoughts spilled out. She couldn't contain herself any longer. She wouldn't.

For once the quick witted Gabriel Agreste was rendered silent. He stared at her as if she had just fallen from the sky. Of course he hadn't noticed how she felt. Why should he suspect his trusted employee would fall in love with him? She was so stupid! Natalie tried to hold back the pained sobs as she rushed to leave the office.

"I'll have my resignation in first thing in the morning."

He about leapt after her, grabbing the door handle before she could leave. "You don't have to quit, Natalie."

"After how unprofessional I was today, Mr. Agreste, I do." She assured him. "I don't want to let my emotions make me do something irrational again. Especially not when Adrien's involved."

Gabriel looked vulnerable and scared. "Natalie, let's just talk about this in the morning. I'll tell the police that everything's fine, the situation's been handled. Just come back and let us discuss this."

"What is there to discuss, Mr. Agreste." She pulled his hand from the door. "I cannot act in a professional manner as your secretary anymore. And I can't just shut off how I feel."

"But..."

Natalie pat the side of his face and kissed his cheek. "We can't act like this never happened. I can't...goodbye, Gabriel."

The woman threw herself out of his office, she rushed through the entry, and out to her awaiting car. She heard Adrien calling her name and running after her, but she didn't stop. If she stopped and saw his sad, delicate face, she'd cave and decide to stay. She couldn't, this was no longer where she belonged. Adrien chased after the car, he even made it through the gates before they closed. He was determined to catch her.

Unfortunately for him, the human body wasn't as fast as a car and he couldn't transform into Chat without revealing his identity to all of Paris. Only a select few knew after Hawkmoth's defeat. He disappeared as she turned a corner and never reappeared again. Natalie didn't stop the car until she was in front of her apartment. She sat there for a long time, trying to process everything that had just happened. She quit her job, left Gabriel, left Adrien.

She could still see Adrien's face as he ran after her.

"I'm sorry, Adrien." She sniffled and wrapped herself around the steering wheel. "I can't stay."


	4. Sins of the Father

**Here's my next chapter, takes place during Catalyst. What would happen if Gabriel's identity was revealed in the battle. There are some spoilers, if you haven't seen it yet and you want it to be a surprise, please hold off. If you have already or you don't care about a slight spoiler read on!**

 **Nutellalover** : **T** **hank you for being the first to review. I'm glad you like my stories!**

 **Disclaimer, I don't own Miraculous Ladybug, all rights belong to Thomas and his team.**

Adrien could feel eyes on him where ever he went. It hadn't been unusual before his world had crumbled apart, but now, he could sense that it was now out of hate rather than admiration. After Hawkmoth's grand scheme of turning everyone in the city into a villain at once was defeated, it was revealed that the mastermind had been none other than Gabriel Agreste. The blond pulled up his hood and tried to hide his face in it. He could vividly remember the look on the man's face when his transformation had run out.

Now the world knew who the infamous villain was.

Unfortunately, the one villain they had missed, a woman in a red and blue costume, swooped in and carried the man off before he could be captured. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the other heroes had no choice but to go home. Paris was saved even if the villain hadn't been caught. At least they knew who he was now. It was a relief for Paris, but absolute hell for Adrien Agreste.

A lot of people were blaming _him_ for his dad's choices. There were a lot of court cases being held, and like a hero Natalie had swooped in to be his legal guardian. She fought to make sure he didn't end up in foster care. Adrien was a minor so he couldn't even speak for himself, he was glad that Natalie was there for him. But there were still many problems the woman couldn't solve. The blond was very aware of how people now saw him.

It was almost as if they saw him as the spawn of Satan.

Though, that wouldn't be a far off evaluation for someone on the outside. The news was full of people demanding that the house be taken as collateral, that the Agreste fortune be put to compensating the victims of Hawkmoth's attack. Natalie readily argued with the media that the money created by the fashion line had nothing to do with Gabriel Agreste's hobby. There was also a lot of speculation about _why_ his father had been terrorizing Paris. Some believed that he was a power hungry maniac bent on taking over the world, others believed he was hoping to use Ladybug and Chat Noir's powers for a less sinister reason.

Whatever his reasoning, there was one thing everyone agreed on.

Adrien Agreste was an accomplice.

The teen couldn't even leave his house as a civilian, there were too many reporters camping outside the front gate. It was because of this, among other reasons, that Natalie refused to let him go to school. At first Adrien had agreed, he needed some time to process his father's actions. He didn't know why his father had become Hawkmoth, he didn't know why he was now essentially an orphan. After a while, Adrien began to miss his normal life, to miss seeing his friends or speeding through the teacher's lectures because he already knew more than his classmates about each topic.

He even missed his father being around to ignore him.

That was how Adrien used his powers to escape his house and brave through the rain to get to school. No one noticed as Chat Noir leapt out of the bathroom window and across a few city blocks before he transformed in an alleyway. Plagg was a little hesitant, a little worried, but mostly, he was mad about the rain. Adrien didn't protest as the kwamii burrowed his way into the collar of his hood to soak up the teen's warmth. Luckily, pulling the hood up lessened the eyes scowling at him as he walked past.

Would they be looking at him like this if they knew he was Chat Noir?

Adrien new he couldn't reveal his identity, he wouldn't, but he wondered if the people of Paris would give him the benefit of the doubt if he did. The rain became heavier as he grew closer and closer to the school. He wondered if his friends would even want him there. Did they blame him too? Would the principle kick him out?

"Hey, Agreste!" A voice bit out.

Against his better judgement, Adrien turned around. There was a crowd, a fairly large one at that. A chill went down his spine as they glared at him. Plagg gave a little growl from his spot in Adrien's hood, the kwamii's protective instincts making themselves known. The group felt like a wave of negative energy was rolling upon him. Some of the people had rocks in their hands, and they looked ready to use them.

"Look," Adrien held his hands up and took a few steps back. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. Maybe going around as Adrien wasn't the best idea. "I don't want any trouble."

"What about the countless people who your father caused trouble for?" Someone in the back hollered. A chorus of agreement followed immediately.

A guy in the front of the group smirked evilly. "Maybe if we rough you up, daddy will come and save you. Then he can get what's coming to him."

"I haven't talked to my dad in weeks." Adrien protested and took another step back. "I had no idea he was Hawkmoth."

No one believed him, that sentiment was confirmed when a rock came flying at him. The teen stumbled back and cried out when it hit his face. Blood flooded down his cheek where it had hit him, his delicate, fair skin had been cut. He heard someone shout ' _Get him'_ before he turned on his heel and took off running. Why did he even try this?

The mob chased after him like bees swarming an intruder.

"You're going to pay, Adrien Agreste!"

Plagg gripped tightly onto the teen's shirt as he was jostled back and forth by the boy's running. Luckily for Adrien, his training as Chat Noir gave him a slight lead. Well, enough that he could duck into a building to escape them. He'd have to find somewhere safe to transform and return home. He would not be going to school today. This mission was a complete failure. Adrien couldn't put them in danger for being in his general vicinity.

He could try the park, but that might lead more people to come after him. Why were there so many people out in the rain? Adrien chose to turn the next corner and immediately dove into a building. The teen ducked and hoped that the group chasing him didn't see him as they rushed past. Thankfully they didn't.

Adrien huffed and tried to catch his breath. His chest felt like it was on fire and his legs felt like jelly. The teen didn't look at where he had decided to hide in, but where ever he was, it smelled delicious. It smelled like...like the Dupain-Chang bakery. Compared to the danger he had been in a moment ago, it was Heaven on Earth.

Unless they were against him too.

"Adrien?" Mrs. Chang gasped. Sher rushed at him, but not to attack. The woman got on her knees and inspected his face. Her eyes lit with tears at the sight of a cut on his cheek. "You're hurt and soaked. What have they done to you? Come up stairs. Tom, we're closing early."

The burly man gave a nod and removed his apron.

"Please, don't do that for me." The teen protested as she brought him to his feet. "I'll leave as soon as its clear."

"Absolutely not." Mr. Dupain told the teen as he flipped the sign and locked the door. "You're going upstairs to warm up. I'll come up to make you something to eat after I finish down here."

Mrs. Chang guided the teen up the stairs and to their home. She rubbed his arms, trying to warm him up. He wouldn't lie, it was nice to have a mother doting over him. Their home was warm and comfortable, the sweet smell of cookies seemed to be a staple of the Dupain-Chang home. Marinette even seemed to come to school with the aroma seeped into her skin. It smelled great.

He absolutely loved it.

"Here, sit on the couch, I'll get some fresh clothing for you to change into." She guided him onto the couch before rushing off to another room.

Part of him wanted to leave. He didn't want to cause problems for Marinette or her family. Adrien didn't want to be a problem for his friend. Though, he did love the feeling of warmth and love coming from the Dupain-Chang home. It was so comfortable he could almost fall asleep. His eyes were even beginning to feel heavy.

Adrien would recline on the couch if it weren't for the fact he was still soaking wet.

"I've got some of Tom's clothing." Mrs. Chang snapped him out of his daze. She held out a pile of neatly folded clothing out for him. "They might be a little big, but at least they're dry. The bathroom is over there. Change and I'll take care of that cut."

Adrien did as he was instructed, he was practically swimming in Mr. Dupain's clothing. She had picked a simple t-shirt and a pair of drawstring sweats. It was really comfortable. Plagg frowned and shook the water from his fur. His green eyes were gleaming with anger. They became fiery when they looked at Adrien. When he saw the cut on the boy's cheek.

"Those...those. I ought ta find them and ring their cowardly little necks. I..."

Adrien pat the kwamii on the head. "It'll be fine, Plagg. I'm okay."

"Yeah, but you almost weren't." Plagg's eyes became sad. "It's just not fair."

Plagg tucked himself into the pocket of the sweat pants with a sigh. He must have felt awful for not being able to help. Before leaving the bathroom Adrien looked at himself in the mirror. He looked terrible, his blond hair was matted down by water, his eyes had dark circles under them, and the gash on his cheek was still bleeding slowly. It needed to be taken care of.

With a bracing sigh he left the bathroom.

"Come sit here, Adrien." Mrs. Chang told him and she gave the couch a pat. Sitting next to her was a box of medical supplies. "I have this in the kitchen. Marinette and Tom are accidents waiting to happen."

Adrien slowly sat down on the couch, trying his best not to let the shirt sleeve slip off of his shoulder. "Thank you, Mrs. Chang, for helping me."

"It's no problem at all, Adrien." She smiled, her grin grew wider when she realized how he looked in her husband's clothing. Mrs. Chang giggled before she began to clean the cut on his face. "I'm sorry, it's just you look like a little kid in Tom's clothing. You look so cute."

Adrien blushed, the embarrassed smile that came to his face made the cut sting a little. She laughed even more when she saw the red that came to his face. She said something about Marinette between fits of laughter and continued to clean the cut. A frown came to her face when a particular dab of the peroxide made him flinch.

"I'm sorry that people are so full of hate and anger, Adrien." Her voice sounded watery as she spoke. "No one should do this, especially not to an innocent child."

"Mama." Marinette's voice called as the door swung open. "Why is the bakery closed? Is something w.w...wrong?"

The girl's face turned an impossible shade of red at the sight of Adrien. She was acting strange, the way she always did when around him. It was nice to know some things never changed. Marinette stuttered a bit more as she awkwardly inched her way into the house. Adrien gave her a shy wave, a smile warmed his face.

"Hi sweetie," Mrs. Chang greeted, "Can you finish up here for me? I'm going to put Adrien's clothes in the drier."

Marinette looked confused for a moment. It would be strange to come home and find your friend in your house. When she finally spotted the gash on his cheek, her eyes went wide in shock. She was at his side in an instant. Her thumb gently prodded at the cut as she did so. He could feel a bruise was forming under his eye, but it wasn't as bad as the initial pain of the hit.

"What happened?" Marinette demanded as she put an antibiotic on his cheek. She sounded as mad as Plagg. "Who did this?"

Adrien did his best not to flinch as she prodded the cut with her finger. "Just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding does not involve an injury like this." She told him. Her voice held more confidence than she had ever had when talking to him. "Try again, Adrien."

Adrien frowned as she put a band-aid on his face. "Some people, they think I worked with my dad. They hate me."

"'Work with your dad'?" Marinette muttered with a baffled expression on her face. "You don't have an evil bone in your body, Adrien Agreste."

The girl blushed when she realized what she had said. Adrien blushed too and ran a hand through his hair. It was nice to see she thought so highly about him, even after finding out his dad was Hawkmoth. Marinette stuttered a little, trying to rephrase what she had said, but he got the point. She didn't hate him.

"What are you doing home anyway?" He asked her. It was barely noon, school should still be in session.

"Oh, the power went out so they sent us home." Marinette explained before she countered. "What were you doing on the streets?"

He sighed and leaned back on the arm rest, the couch was really comfortable. It almost seemed to be sucking him in. Adrien felt his eyes become heavy again. Who knew how tired stress could make him? The teen just wanted to go to sleep and everything to go back to normal.

"Adrien?"

He blearily looked at her, sleep creeping up on him. "I was trying to get to school, I just wanted to pretend things were normal. Even if it was just for a few hours."

"I'm sorry, Adrien." Marinette's eyes grew watery with tears, "You deserve better. I hate that people blame you."

"They are just looking for someone to punish." The blond blurted as he felt his muscles go limp, there was something about Marinette being near that made him feel completely at ease.

"Why does it have to be you?" She whimpered and clenched her fist. "You've done nothing wrong. You can't be punished for being his son."

"I don't know. Marinette." He told her as his eyes closed.

Adrien couldn't help it, being surrounded by the comforts of the snuggly Dupain-Chang home. The love and warmth and security he felt made it so easy for him to fall asleep. Marinette's soothing voice didn't hinder the process at all, just her being near made him feel loved. He didn't know why, but his body decided not to fight it. He could stay for a few hours.

...

Marinette fought back tears as she watched the boy she loved fall asleep. His face lost all of it's tension as a dreamland took him away. She brushed her fingers through his hair, her eyes were glued to the large white band-aid on his face. How could anyone ever hurt him? The teen simply couldn't understand it.

"I'm sorry that people let themselves become that consumed with anger." She told him as she put his feet on the couch. Of course he couldn't hear her, but she needed to say something. "Sleep well."

Marinette resisted the urge to kiss him, to run her fingers through his soft blond hair. She wanted so much to do so, but she might wake him. Instead she covered him with a blanket from the couch, tucking him in as if he were a small child. When she had arrived home, when she had seen her papa closing up the bakery, she could have never guessed Adrien was the reason. The girl wished her father would have warned her they had a guest.

And that the guest was Adrien Agreste.

Marinette, Alya, Nino, and yes, even Chloe were worried about him. Adrien hadn't showed up to school for a long time. There were no explanations or answers anytime they tried to contact him. At first, people would loiter around the school and wait for Adrien to show up. A week later they stopped coming around. Chloe kept the whole class informed about Adrien's situation.

There were a lot of people wanting to punish the model. It made Marinette sad and mad and all sorts of other things. Some of the kids at school were on Adrien's side, but others, they made veiled threats about what they'd do if Adrien chose to come to school. She'd hate to think about them being the first to 'greet' the poor boy. Though, would it be any worse than being chased by a mob of angry people.

"He's going to be alright, Marinette." Her mom looped an arm around her shoulder. "Adrien is a strong, smart boy."

She looked at Adrien's peaceful face. Just knowing what almost happened to him, thinking about what could have happened to him. It made her so mad. Marinette couldn't fathom anyone _wanting_ to hurt her ' _Buttercup_ '. What a ridiculous name she gave him when she had started an operation to score a date with the model.

Marinette gave her mom's arm a pat and leaned her head on her shoulder. "I know, Mama. I just wish he wasn't going through this by himself."

"He won't." Her dad assured her as he entered the house. He must have finished cleaning up the bakery. "He's going to have you, your friends, your mother and I. And my famous chicken noodle soup."

"Some cookies don't hurt either, Papa." Marinette gave a watery giggle. "Can I go down to the bakery and get some?"

Her mom kissed her cheek, "Go ahead, sweetie. We'll keep an eye on your boyfriend."

Marinette gave a bird-like squawk before running out and down to the bakery. Her face burned hotly, she hoped Adrien hadn't heard her mother refer to him as her boyfriend. How embarrassing? The teen could hardly talk to him, let alone enough to ask him on a date. Marinette had once, but she allowed him to think it was a friendship thing. She was absolutely hopeless when it came to him.

When they were down at the bakery, Tikki happily floated out of her clutch purse and searched for her chosen treat of the day. The kwamii cried in triumph as she found what she wanted and munched on it contently. Marinette also chose to grab some cookies. She hardly paied attention as she stacked a plate full of them.

"Marinette? Are you alright?" the little red creature asked as she finished off her treat. "You look sad."

The girl felt her lip quiver as she looked at her kwamii. "I am Tikki. How could anyone want to hurt Adrien?"

"Well he _is_ Hawkmoth's son." the kwamii reasoned.

"So. He's innocent."

" _We_ know that Adrien is good, but they don't." Tikki told her, there was a little something to the way she spoke, as if there was something she weren't saying.

Marinette decided not to press her on it.

"I should call Alya and Nino." Marinette told her friend as she carried a full plate of cookies. "I'm sure they'll want to see Adrien, and he'll be happy to see them."

Tikki praised her for her idea before diving back into the girl's purse. It would be a good idea. Adrien could use the friends right now. The blonde's absence was driving Nino crazy. He was on edge and refused to let anyone sit in Adrien's usual spot, even Alya. This was not the Nino they knew, but he was missing his best friend.

Marinette could smell her papa's home made soup wafting through the air. It smelled amazing. How often did Adrien get real home cooked meals? One where his parent's actually cooked rather than a payed chief. Did they sit down at a table and enjoy each other's company. Maybe before Emilie Agreste disappeared, and now Gabriel Agreste was on the run. Adrien's family had been torn apart.

"Oh good, you're back." Her mom greeted as came back into the house. "How about you and Adrien play video games and eat cookies while your father and I finish the soup?"

Adrien must have just woken up before she came back into the house. His blond hair was a bit askew and his green eyes were squinted as if he were fighting to stay awake. The look on her mom's face told her something happened, maybe he had a bad dream or something. Marinette didn't say anything as she brought the cookies over to her friend. He grinned tiredly and thanked her for the cookies.

"Is there any game you want to play?" She asked.

At first Adrien didn't answer, he took a bite out of the first cookie he grabbed and it seemed to snap him awake. "I _love_ these cookies. And I'm cool with whatever game you choose, Marinette. You have great taste."

Marinette blushed at the complement before grabbing one of her favorite games to play. It had been awhile since she and Adrien had played video games together. She enjoyed it. He was at the same level as her practically. Way better than her dad at playing video games.

They were having fun, playfully bumping shoulders, trying to get a one up on each other. All of the sadness seemed to lift off of Adrien, even if it was just for a moment. Marinette felt her heart warm at the sight of him. He was too pure and sweet to be suffering so much. The girl hoped that he'd stay that way, even after all he'd been through since his father's reveal.

Since his mother's disappearance.

"Hey, Adrien. After lunch, how about I invite Nino and Alya over?" She suggested as the delicious aroma of the chicken soup became even stronger. "I know they'd like to see you."

Adrien frowned and eyed the controller in his hand. "I really don't want to impose on your family anymore than I already have."

"My parents adore you." She told him. "They wouldn't be fussing over you this much if they didn't. Just stay until night, when Gorilla and Natalie can safely pick you up."

"You really don't want me to go." The blond gave a megawatt smile. "Perhaps you like having me around?"

"Who wouldn't?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. Marinette blushed when she realized what she said. At first Adrien had that cute baffled expression on his face before he laughed.

"Kids, the soup is ready." Marinette's papa called from the kitchen.

Adrien jumped up so fast that the over sized shirt he was wearing slid down his shoulder. He looked so small in her father's clothing. She almost forgot that Adrien was rather thin. Compared to her father, Adrien was absolutely tiny. The boy blushed and quickly adjusted the baggy clothing around himself. She tried to hide her smile as she followed him to the kitchen table.

"It's nice and warm." Marinette heard her mother tell Adrien as she set a bowl of steaming soup in front of him. "Eat up, honey."

The boy didn't hesitate, he happily began slurping at the soup. Marinette didn't doubt that he had been hungry. Running from a mob of angry people tended to burn a lot of calories. That, and her Papa made the best chicken noodle soup. Marinette's mom had her sit next to Adrien. The girl tried her best to act like a normal person being so close to him.

With the cute look of contentment that came to his face as he ate, she was having a hard time doing so.

…..

Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Chang were the best cooks in all of Paris. That was what Adrien decided as their home made chicken soup practically melted his frozen muscles. For once, he felt he could understand why Plagg was so obsessed with food he liked. Adrien had at least gone through three bowls and two croissants before he was full. Or at least full enough to resist the beckoning call of the soup's aroma.

"That was so good." he gushed, still longing for another taste of the soup. "Thank you."

Tom Dupain blushed at the complement. "Thank you, son. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You know, I've taught Marinette how to cook like this."

"Papa..." Marinette complained as her face became as red as a tomato. Mr. Dupain gave him a playful wink before collecting the dishes. The blond offered to help the man clean dishes. Tom had no objections.

Marinette and her mom were clearing off the table. Everything at the Dupain-Chang felt comfortable, content, and natural. A frantic knock at the door turned the whole home silent. Marinette was the first to go to it. As soon as it was swung open, there was only shouting and crying and unintelligible ramblings. Adrien leaned back to see what was happening. It was Alya and Nino, both looked as if the world was coming to an end, sobbing as they tried to explain something to Marinette.

"Slow down." The dark haired girl soothed. "What's going on?"

"It's Adrien..." Nino choked out and pressed his tear soaked face in his hand. He wasn't holding himself together at all. Adrien was confused. What had he done to make Nino and Alya this upset?

Marinette spoke softly, also confused by their friends, pointing her finger in his direction. "He's..."

"I'm so sorry, Mari." Alya sobbed and wrapped her arms around the other girl. "It...it's not looking good."

"And what would that be?" Adrien asked as he walked up on the trio.

Both Alya and Nino looked like they had seen a ghost. The blond gave a nervous wave. It took only a moment before the two rushed at him. Adrien was crushed between them in an instant, struggling to breathe as the life was squished out of him. Alya had even given him a kiss on the cheek. The one that didn't have a band-aid.

"Thank God you're alright." Nino sighed shakily. "We saw the fire and we thought..."

Adrien felt an electric shock go down his spine, "Fire?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Alya asked as she whipped a tear from her cheek. She then got a good look at him. "Boy, what are you wearing? What happened to your face?"

He gave them the same explanation he had Marinette. Both looked as indignant as Marinette when she had heard about what had happened. But that didn't matter at the moment. What was the fire they had been talking about? Alya turned on the television in spite of Nino's protest. They were covering a fire. A building had been set ablaze, arson had been confirmed. The arsonist was proudly taking credit for the destruction, even as he was taken into custody.

"All of the employees in the building have been evacuated." The reporter noted glumly, her eyes looked a bit watery. She took a moment to wipe the tears away. "No one has been able to access the room of Adrien Agreste. That is the last place his primary caregiver reported him to be. The Molotov's had been thrown into his bedroom window. That is where the fire originated...Oh, god, what have we become? He's just a boy."

The camera cut away from the reporter and to the inferno that had once been the Agreste manor. Adrien felt his whole body become numb as he slumped onto the couch. Someone had tried to kill him, they almost killed everyone in his home. All of those memories, photos, silly trinkets from his childhood that had been neatly stowed away. Gone.

"Adrien?" Marinette's hand gripped his shoulder tightly.

As much as he wanted to look away, he couldn't. That was the last tie to his family. The only place he had known as his home. He vaguely heard Marinette's parents come in to see what the noise was about. Even surrounded by his friends, he couldn't feel the love and warmth he had felt just minutes ago. He only felt, empty.

"Bro...?"

"I...I need to go." Adrien could hear the lifelessness in his own voice. "I have to go home."

"You're not going anywhere." Marinette told him firmly. "Not after seeing this. You shouldn't be alone."

He tried to pull away but she held him tighter. Who knew a small teen girl could be so strong? The blond finally managed to shake her hands off and try to walk to the door, but she grabbed him again. Marinette was determined to keep him in place. The more he tried to get away, the tighter her grip got.

"Marinette, let me..." She pounced on him, her arms looping tightly around his shoulders and her face pressing into his neck.

"You don't need to be alone." Marinette cried as she held on for dear life. "I promise, I'll never let you be alone again."

Adrien felt as if the air had been knocked from his lungs. Did Marinette really care that much about him? The blond felt his eyes become watery as he wrapped his arms around her. She smelled of cinnamon and flower and every sweet thing he could think of. It was the kind of smell that could almost chase all the bad things away.

Almost being the key word.

"Hawkmoth is here!" The reporter screamed.

Adrien felt his stomach turn when he heard his father's pained voice shout over the screaming woman. "Where is my son? What have you done?"

Gabriel Agreste, dressed in his villain persona was attacking citizens with a new akuma at his side. He was throwing the spectators about, clearly inconsolably angry. Adrien had never seen his father so mad. People were getting hurt. The man sent his akuma to the smoldering building. When a small explosion blew out the windows in the bed room, Adrien saw his father's anger go up three notches.

"You will all suffer, suffer like you've made him. I'll never forgive you for taking him from me!" The man bellowed and rebegan his attack with a vigor.

"I need to stop him." Adrien pulled himself from Marinette's desperate grasp.

The boy didn't listen to the pleas for him to stop as he ran out of the Dupain-Chang home. Adrien had to stop his father, he had to protect those people. It was still raining out. Rain and oversized clothing didn't mingle well, but Adrien tried not to let it slow him down too much. Luckily, it seemed as if the rain had finally chased the citizens on the street back into their homes. Plagg flew up, following right next to Adrien.

"Hey, kid," Plagg hissed. "Don't you think we should suite up?"

Adrien shook his head, his damp blond hair stuck stubbornly to his face, "He thinks I'm dead or something, Plagg. Maybe seeing that I'm alright will calm him down."

"Are you sure about this?" the kwami asked worriedly. When he saw Adrien was committed he sighed, "Ooookay, I'll follow your lead, but if things get scary, I want you to promise me we'll get out of there and transform."

"Aren't you the one who doesn't want to transform?" Adrien smirked at the kwami's concern.

Plagg gave a huff before diving back into the pockets of the sweat pants, the task a little less pleasant due to the rain. Adrien was glad he didn't live too far from Marinette's house. He rounded the corner and could see the smoke coming from the direction of his house. A painful reminder of what he's lost. The run seemed to take forever, but Adrien finally managed to reach the frightened crowd surrounding his house.

"ADRIEN!" His dad's voice wailed. "He was my son! My world! All I had left of _her_!"

Adrien weaved through the crowd, desperately trying to make it to the front of the group. He had to calm his father down before he did something irreversible. The blond was very aware of Mr. Dupain's clothing slipping from his frame and did his best to prevent it as he worked against the current of people. Maybe he should have at least changed back into his own clothing before rushing out of the house.

"Father!" Adrien shouted as he broke through the front of the crowd. "Father, you need to calm down."

At first Gabriel hadn't heard him, he was gripping tightly onto the front of a man's shirt. It was the man who had set the house on fire in the first place. The man wasn't as confident as he had been when admitting to the arson earlier. The blond couldn't blame him for being frozen in fear. After facing countless foes as Chat Noir, Adrien thought nothing could scare him. His bravery as the hero was his most well known qualities. But, seeing his dad _this_ angry was terrifying, he couldn't seem to order his body to move.

"He was only fourteen." His dad sobbed as he shook the man. "Fourteen and innocent!"

Adrien forced himself to take a step forward, "Father..."

The fashion designer's head shot in his direction like a hawk honing in on something. When his father's grey eyes landed on him, Adrien hardly had a moment to process his father practically teleporting to him. He felt the air was crushed from his lungs as his father's arms wrapped tightly around him. His father had never held him so tightly before. Gabriel shook and cried as his hand cupped the back of the boy's head.

His father's legs gave out and the both of them were kneeling on the wet ground.

"Adrien, I thought that I..." Gabriel's voice cut short. "I thought that you...Oh, Adrien."

Adrien didn't fight as his father practically cocooned him in his arms. The world around them faded at the sound of his father's heart beat. It was erratic and every so often overpowered by Gabriel's shuddering breath. The teen had never seen his father so emotional before. After a long moment, his father pulled away and wiped tears from his eyes, he kept his hand on the teen's shoulder.

"I was so afraid, I was walking by the house, to check on you." His father explained before giving a loud sniff. "I saw the fire, that God awful fire and feared the worst, especially when you didn't come out and...what happened to your cheek?"

The Band-Aid had fallen off, his father's clothing had probably ripped it free, revealing the nasty cut along his face. Adrien winced as his dad ran a thumb over the gash. Growing up, Adrien had never received any injuries, his parent's had made sure to that. Seeing the bloody, bruised, torn skin must have been startling for the man.

"I'm fine, father." He assured. "But you need to stop hurting people. Look around, they're terrified."

"I'm terrified, Adrien." Gabriel grimaced before looking away from the teen. "I could have lost you today. That is why, you are coming with me."

Adrien felt his heart leap to his throat as his father grabbed his wrist. A swarm of butterflies formed around them and lifted them from the ground. He didn't really have time to question the logistics of it all as Ladybug swooped in and snatched him out of his father's grasp. She quickly set him on the ground as his father had landed once more. The blood chilling look of fury returned.

"Give me _my_ son." He snarled at the heroin. Adrien felt his blood go cold at his father's feral tone. "He's not safe here, not with these...heathens. They tried to kill him."

"They're scared, Gabriel." Ladybug soothed, her arm was still looped protectively around Adrien. Not that the boy minded. "Just like you had been a minute ago. You have the power to fix all of this, make things right. No one has been permanently harmed by your actions. Please, give me your miraculous, before something happens that my Lucky Charm can't fix."

The designer clentched his fist as he glared at the hero. "So they can take away my son? So that you can deny me my wish?"

"What is your wish?" The girl asked, her fist knotting into the oversized shirt that Adrien wore. "If you just ask, I might be able to help you, but not when you're like this."

Gabriel glared at Ladybug, glared at everyone surrounding him, it was clear he didn't want to surrender. With the power at his fingertips, he didn't have to surrender. The man's eyes softened a fraction as they landed on him. For the first time in a long time, Adrien could feel his father really looking at him. Not just evaluating him. It almost made the teen want to cry.

"Come with me, Adrien." His father reached his gloved hand out. There was a desperate look that began to cloud his eyes the longer Adrien took to return the gesture.

"Why don't you come home, dad?" The blond knew he sounded like a child, he knew he sounded pitiful, but he didn't have the strength to hold a mask up for his father. His cheeks felt warm and his eyes stung. "I've lost mom. I don't want to lose you too."

Gabriel's outstretched hand curled into a fist. His posture looked more relaxed than the boy had ever seen it. It was Adrien's desperate hope that his father took his words to heart. Maybe he had finally broke through the shell that the man stubbornly kept around his heart. Could this be the miracle that Adrien had been waiting for?

Ladybug frowned gently at him, "Hasn't there been enough pain and violence going around?"

"My wife had an accident, Ladybug." The man spoke mutely. "Ten years ago we had discovered a magical item, one that could summon a creature more powerful than any force there had been. Emilie found out it had the power to show us the future, we wanted to see our son's. What would be in store for such a perfect child? She saw pain, so we kept him close. We did that for many years, but how could a bird be happy locked in a cage when it was born to fly? We wanted to understand what would harm him, she tried to enhance its power, recreate one of the spells from the book. But...it ended in utter failure and resulted in a coma. I wanted the miraculous so that I could bring her back, so that I could protect my family."

Adrien felt himself fall to his knees. His mom was hurt, in a coma, because of _him_. His mother was trying to protect him and she ended up paying a price for it. Ladybug gasped and knelt with him, her warm arms wrapping lovingly around his shaking frame. She made a remark about him being cold. As luck would have it, her lucky charm summoned a blanket and an umbrella. He hardly protested as she wrapped him in the blanket and placed the umbrella in his hand.

"I'm so sorry I never told you, Adri..."

"It's my fault, isn't it?" Adrien gasped as he looked tearfully at his father. "If you two hadn't been trying to find out how to protect _me_ , if I had just stayed quiet and in the house you wouldn't have had to do that."

Gabriel rushed forward and took him by his shoulders. "None of this is your fault Adrien, it was a self fulfilled prophecy. I see that now. _We_ caused your pain, the pain we tried so desperately to protect you from."

Adrien looked up at his father, the man's eyes now seemed to be crystal clear, more so than they had in a long time. He watched as his father removed the broach and ended his transformation. It was just his dad now, abet in clothing he'd never thought he'd see his father wearing, but his dad all the same. A purple kwami floated at his side looking absolutely awe-struck. He faintly heard Plagg say 'Nooroo' before his father handed the broach to Ladybug.

"I...I renounce you, Nooroo. I'm sorry."

The kwami gave Adrien a grateful nod before returning to the broach. It seemed like the sun finally peaked out from the clouds and the rain had finally went away. As if it had been waiting for such a break through to happen. The fire that had consumed the Agreste mansion had finally been defeated by the firemen and the retreating rain. Everything was finally peaceful.

Until the leash less akumatized villain went on his own rampage, but without guidance from Hawkmoth, Ladybug made quick work of it. Adrien watched as she cured it with ease. She smiled at Adrien after sending the butterfly off.

"May I?" She asked. He handed her the towel and umbrella. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The smell of smoke and heat of the fire faded away as Ladybug's magic rebuilt the Agreste mansion to its former glory, it was almost as if nothing had happened. She would never cease to surprise him. Adrien grinned thankfully at her, she was incredible. Gabriel also seemed to be awestruck by the girl's ability to put all the pieces back together.

"See, what's broken can always be put back toghether." Ladybug smiled. "And as for, Emilie, I'm going to talk to Master Fu. He may know how to save her. Thank you for returning the miraculous."

Adrien caught her as she turned to leave, he was very aware of her miraculous beeping in warning. "Wait, Ladybug. Thank you."

She smiled and caressed his cheek, "Anything to put a smile on your face. Uh...I mean...Oh, look at that, I'm about to change back. Gotta go!"

Ladybug took off so fast that she left the smell of cinnamon in her wake. His father pulled him in for a tight hug, Adrien felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from their shoulders. If Master Fu could save his mother, his family would be whole once more. He was surprised his father had actually put his trust in her.

"I've caused enough pain." Gabriel muttered into his son's hair, "To others and most importantly you. I'm done putting your life at risk. If Ladybug can't help her, your mother would understand."

Adrien knew Ladybug could help. She could make miraculous things happen.

"I think after that heartfelt confession, after everything that's happened here." the reporter began in a watery voice, crying as the camera man filmed hr. "We can agree that, Gabriel Agreste can be forgiven."

 **A little sappy, but I like happy endings! Of course Gabriel still has a lot of redemption to go, but he's willing to ask for help now.**


	5. I'm Not Letting you Go

**This was an alternative ending for 'Fix my Broken Heart' requested by CoverGirl7210.**

 **First of All, wow. I did not expect for this chapter to get as long as it did. It's 17,00 words. The longest chapter I've ever written for a story. I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **As always, I wasn't fortunate enough to be the creator of Miraculous Ladybug.**

Blind faith was such a dangerous thing to have. Especially when you were putting that faith in the hands of your kidnapper. A kidnapper who has already shown she has what it takes to be ruthless. How foolish could this boy really be? Natalie steeled her resolve and grabbed his hand. Only half asleep, Adrien leapt back in shock, his head hit against the door with a smarting 'thwak'. He tried to pull away from her, but she held firm. She decided.

Adrien Agreste would not be going home.

"Natalie...wh...what are you doing?" He sounded absolutely baffled by her actions. What did he expect? For her to simply let him go? Plagg started to wake as the boy tried to wrench his hand from her grasp. She had to act fast, before Adrien or the kwami got their wits about them.

She felt Adrien go ridged as the ring was slid off his delicate finger. Natalie knew that the kwami wouldn't disappear, the boy had to be willing to give him up, but at least he couldn't access his power. He looked as if she had done the worst thing she could have. In fact, she did something much worse, she slid the ring on her own finger. Even if the kwami wasn't meant for her, if she had a strong enough will, it would have to obey her.

She'd seen Gabriel cruelly control Nooroo countless times. She might be able to do the same to Plagg.

"Give my kit the ring." Plagg snarled. "Now."

"Silence kwami." Natalie told him. "You will sit and be a good cat, unless you want me to recall you to the ring."

The cat scoffed, "You don't have the power to make me do that."

"Don't I?" She did her best to sound void of emotion. "Do you really want to find out? Do you really want to risk that you'll leave him alone with me?"

The look in the kwami's eyes told her that she had essentially declared check-mate. Plagg huffed before curling protectively on the nape of Adrien's neck. Piercing green eyes were locked onto her. The boy was still gaping at her like a fish out of water. He was really naïve to believe that she'd just take him back. She didn't want to lose him, she had already lost Gabriel.

"Why?" Adrien sounded like a balloon losing air. His eyes could never lie, she could see how devastated he was. "Natalie, why are you doing this?"

She reached out to brush her fingers through his hair, to try and comfort him as a mother would. The kwami growled at her. Natalie retreated her hand to avoid getting a nasty bite. Adrien could be comforted later. There was still a lot of driving to get through before they could rest for the night. And she had to make sure that there were ground rules set up.

"Adrien, you and Plagg will do everything I tell you to." She had that same dead voice she used when giving him his father's instructions. "I've seen how your father controlled Nooroo, I know a kwami can be controlled by other people. So, if you don't want me to recall him to the ring, you both will behave. No escaping, no running, and no attempts to call for help. Got it?"

The boy's face paled, he balled his fist on his knees, and looked away from her. She could see tears forming in his eyes as he closed them and gave her a nod. Plagg blinked dismally at her, probably the closest thing to a 'yes' she'd get from him. It was enough, they were afraid that they'd be separated. They wouldn't try to escape now.

She put the car back in drive and remerged onto the road once more. Plagg would growl angrily at her and mutter something under his breath, she could feel his green eyes razing her. Adrien was silent for the most part and spent most of the drive staring catatonically at his hands. Natalie felt bad when she could hear him start sniffling, but said nothing. It must have been devastating for yet another person he trusted to betray him.

After a while Adrien slouched back in his seat and looked hopelessly out the car window. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. How could one expect a teenage boy to process being abducted by a family friend? Natalie longed to tell him that he'd be okay. That _they'd_ be okay, but she knew she shouldn't try to comfort him with those sentiments now.

Both she and Adrien jumped when his phone went off once more. Right, she'd have to ditch that. Adrien looked at the phone longingly. Natalie could see that Marinette was once again calling them. The girl was still desperately trying to get a hold of her boyfriend. Since Natalie had made up her mind, she may as well tell the girl what was going to happen. The secretary took a deep breath before she answered the phone.

"I am not bringing him back." She told them before hanging up and throwing the phone out the window. Natalie heard Adrien gasp and look back to where the phone most likely had fallen. It was gone. "We'll need to get a new car soon."

At first Adrien didn't say anything, he just stared out the back window as if the phone would magically come flying back. "Why?"

"Your father has it Lojacked." Natalie explained to him. "He'd always been afraid that someone would take out Gorilla and kidnap you using it."

"Wow, for once Gabriel's paranoia was actually worth a damn." Plagg snipped. "Too bad the kidnapper knows about it."

She looked at the time on the radio, it was too late for any car dealership to still be open. She'd have to stop at a motel for the night and get a new one in the morning. Knowing Gabriel, he'd be hounding the police to access the location of his car. If he had the chance, he'd be watching their every move. It was better to ditch the car sooner rather than later. Natalie saw a flickering hotel sign come into view and sighed. She hoped that the police wouldn't be rushing after her this late at night.

Then again, she had a million-dollar kid at her mercy.

Pulling up to the motel, Natalie could feel Adrien wanted to rip the door open and run away. She had made it clear to him what the consequences would be if he had tried to run. The teen wouldn't risk losing his kwami for his own safety. Natalie ordered the two to remain in the car. They knew what would happen if they didn't.

Natalie put on Gorilla's unused chauffer hat and walked into the motel office. The office was small, the walls were covered with fancy, Victorian style molding and old outdated wallpaper. It actually felt rather homey, it was a perfect place to hide for the night. There was a man sitting at the counter reading the news paper. He didn't seem interested in her as she came in. That was good. The less attention he gave her, the less likely he'd be able to identify her to the police.

"Excuse me, I'd like a room." She spoke softly. "My son and I have been traveling all night."

He didn't question her, she put some money on the counter and he gave her a room key. Whatever was in the paper must have been really interesting. Natalie quickly went to get Adrien. Thankfully he was still in the car. She could tell he was having an argument with the kwami. They must have been so engrossed in it that they hadn't noticed her come back out.

"I'm not leaving you, Plagg." She heard his muffled voice growl. "You can forget it."

Plagg flew forward and tugged on Adrien's shirt, almost as if he were trying to pull the boy out of the car himself. "But, who knows what she's capable of, Adrien?"

Natalie knew the blond was too stubborn to abandon Plagg with her. The determined expression on his face mirrored his father's. The more she looked at him, the more she saw Gabriel showing through. Gabriel liked to boast and brag that Adrien was so much like Emilie, but the truth was, Adrien was very much Gabriel's son too. He was a perfect blend of the two. Proud, strong, brave, and loyal to a fault.

The teen was startled when she opened the passenger side door, "Come along, I've gotten us a room."

Adrien hesitantly got out of the car, he went to grab his back pack but she told him to leave it. Perplexed, Adrien still did as he was told, allowing her to lead him to their room. The night air was chilly as the colder seasons rushed up upon them. She knew Adrien had never thought to grab a coat that morning. He never expected he wouldn't be going strait home after school. Natalie made a note to buy him one.

"How far are you willing to go, Natalie?" Adrien asked her, he didn't fight her hand tightly clamped onto his shoulder. "How long before you decide to do what's right? It's not too late to turn around."

Natalie knew he'd always be resistant, he wouldn't be happy trapped by her. He'd want to go back to his mom and dad. Maybe if she put a seed of doubt in his head. Doubt about the longer leash his parents had given him. She felt terrible thinking it. Gabriel wanted so desperately to restore his son's faith in him. And with Adrien's forgiving nature, it hadn't been too hard for the man to do.

"As long as I can." She told him, her grip tightening on his shoulder. "You're father and mother will never let me near you again, Adrien. I've gotten to watch you grow so much, I've grown to love you as if you were my own child. I can't fix this by turning around and giving you back."

Adrien squirmed a little bit. "But I can talk with them."

"Enough, Adrien. We aren't discussing this." She told him as they reached their door. "You will go to bed and behave for me."

The door gave a foreboding squeak as it swung open. A pitch-black room greeted them, it smelled of detergent and air freshener. Not at all like the luxury that the boy had grown up with. Natalie flicked the lights on, they flickered before showing them the small, dismal space. There were two beds facing a small plasma screen television, the room was small and cozy and humble.

Definitely couldn't hold a candle to the Agreste mansion.

Adrien stood stiffly at the entrance, almost as if he were in a trance, like the weight of what was happening to him had finally come crashing down. He was finally realizing how serious she was. The woman gave him a nudge and ushered him into the room. She locked the door behind them, deadbolted it too. It wasn't really anything that could actually hold the boy.

No, the ring on her finger was doing better than any lock could.

"Get cleaned up." she told him. "We're getting up early to get another car and some new clothing."

"Anything else?" Plagg snipped at her, his whiskers twitched angrily on his face. "Want to tuck him in and give him a kiss goodnight?"

Adrien looked down at his feet, "Don't argue, Plagg."

"What else am I supposed to do?" the kwami hissed. "My kit is in danger and I...I'm scared for you, Adrien."

Natalie felt touched by how close the two were. It was a rather sweet relationship that the god of destruction and a mere mortal boy had formed. Their friendship was both a strength and a weakness. One she felt bad exploiting, but it was the only way to keep both under her control. She didn't want to lose Adrien because she was too weak to do what she had to.

"Adrien is perfectly safe and probably exhausted." Natalie told the two. Adrien looked concerned while Plagg looked as if he wanted to claw her eyes out. She wouldn't let the kwami intimidate her. "Go, get ready for bed."

Adrien had that look come to his face, the one he got when he wanted to argue, but she gave the ring a tap and both boy and kwami retreated into the bathroom. The woman let out a long breath of air, it was almost like she hadn't been breathing for hours. How could she have been able to hold herself together for so long? She couldn't let either of them see her weak, they might get the idea of fighting her otherwise.

Natalie turned the television on, the volume was down low so that only she could hear. She needed to know how much publicity the kidnapping of Adrien Agreste was getting. Drastic measures may need to be taken if she and Adrien were to escape his father's desperate attempts to get him back.

"It has been a total of eight hours since Adrien Agreste was abducted from his school at three this afternoon. The parents describe his abductor as a tall woman with black hair and a signature red streak in the bangs. She has blue eyes and is in her late thirties. This is the message the boy's parents have for his abductor."

Gabriel appeared on the screen, his eyes once again looked lifeless. As painfilled as they had when Emilie had been in her coma. His wife stood next to him, her cool green eyes held a certain fire and determined look. Emilie Agreste looked like a force to be reckoned with. Natalie felt her eyes draw back to Gabriel. Handsome as ever, she loved him so much it made her heart ache. It just wasn't fair.

"Natalie." Gabriel's voice cracked, his eyes filling with tears. "Please, give him back. I'll give you every cent, every stock in my company, all of it. We just want Adrien home safe and sound."

She paused the television and just stared at Gabriel for a moment. This could be the last time she saw him. She wanted to memorize every detail of his face. The color of his eyes, the look on his face, every wrinkle and crease he'd earned through the years. Natalie was sure there'd be more to come.

Natalie wiped a tear from her face and turned off the television before Adrien could see what she was watching. The blond came into the room a moment later. His face was still set into a frown and his eyes looked even more tired than they had when she first picked him up from the school. Plagg followed closely behind, glaring at her before tugging the blond to the side of the second bed farthest from her.

"You get some sleep, kid." Plagg ordered as he turned down the blankets. He was a rather unconventional father figure, but she knew both Adrien and Marinette had close relationships with their kwami.

"Plagg, I can't...ow." the cat kwami flew up and gave the boy's blond hair a sharp tug.

"Bed. Now." Plagg ordered.

The boy frowned but he obediently clambered onto the bed for the kwami. Upon laying down, all of Adrien's tension seemed to fade, his eyes looked droopy. Part of Natalie longed to rush to the boy's side and tuck him in. She remembered doing that when his mom had first disappeared. Gabriel had been too distracted to see how stressed his son was. Adrien had pulled a few all-night stands and it had taken its toll, she had to make him go to bed

Natalie remembered crying when the boy gave her a tired 'Thank you, mom' before falling asleep.

She watched as Plagg drew the covers around the teen's shoulders and ruffled his blond hair. Adrien let out a long breath before turning his back to her. Natalie couldn't tell how long it took before he actually fell asleep. Plagg had curled up on his shoulder and stared at her. Even after she tried to go to sleep herself, she could still feel his eyes on her.

It was going to be a long night.

….

Marinette was in Adrien's room. More specifically she was curled up into a fetal position on his bed. She had been at the Agreste mansion ever since Gabriel had called and asked her if she knew where the boy was. Of course, she hadn't seen him since Natalie picked him up. Adrien was too exhausted to do anything other than go home.

She kissed him on the cheek before he got in the car.

The girl whined as she coiled around one of his pillows. It smelled like him. After finding out each other's identities, it had been an adjustment. But knowing that one of her best friends was also the boy she loved, it made all her feelings so much stronger. Their shyness faded into something that felt comfortable and natural. All of the girls would say 'awe' as the two passed and Marinette would press her red face into Adrien's shoulder.

He'd just laugh and wrap his arm around her.

When would she get to hear his laugh again? Natalie's blatant refusal to bring Adrien home left a pit in Marinette's stomach. Her phone was now broken because she dropped it. Relaying the woman's message to his parents was like trying to speak through a mouthful of cotton. They were devastated, baffled, angry, all the things you'd expect concerned parents to be.

"He'll be okay, Marinette." Tikki's small voice assured her. "He's got Plagg with him, I'm sure they've already escaped, and they are on their way home."

Marinette looked up from the pillow, her eyes felt as if they were weighed down by led. Her kwami was right, Adrien did have Plagg to help him. Maybe he'd come swooping in through the window while she fell asleep. The teen gave a nod, a smile curved slightly onto her face. She could imagine him using his cataclysm to turn the whole car to a heap of scrap metal, or the metal staff to leap across a vast distance to get back to her.

She pat Tikki on the head, her own falling heavily onto the soft pillows on Adrien's bed. Why did he have such a big bed? She wondered as she rolled herself into the middle. It was weird to be laying in his bed, to be in his room. Gabriel and Emilie arranged for her to stay the night. Her parents agreed and both wished the best for Adrien. While Marinette knew she wouldn't be able to stay at the Agreste's mansion for more than a few days, she was going to let herself enjoy his sent lingering in the pillows and sheets.

Weird, but she could somehow imagine he was near. That he hadn't been taken away.

"Tikki?" Marinette asked tiredly. "Why did Natalie do this?"

The red and black spotted creature hovered around her head with a thoughtful frown. "Sometimes people do crazy things when they feel they have no other choice."

Marinette didn't know what would make Natalie feel so desperate that she'd take Adrien. She didn't want money, nor did she make any demands. Natalie promised that she wasn't going to be bringing him back. Was the he all she really wanted? Was the woman perfectly content with taking him? The thought of not seeing his stupidly adorable face was driving her crazy. Adrien belonged here, by her side, not to parts unknown.

The girl felt her body go limp as sleep started to overtake her. Marinette pressed the pillow in her arms closer to her heart before she finally allowed herself to drift off.

….

"This is ridiculous!" Gabriel yelled.

He was considering throwing his phone across the room, but he'd need it if he were to contact the company that had put a GPS on his car. They had told him it was too late for them to do anything. He had tried to get in contact with them around five in the afternoon. They were closed, no one would be able to help until nine the next morning. The man knew it was hopeless, he had even tried to contact the owner of the company.

No answer. No response.

In the hours it took for nine A.M to roll around, Natalie could get even farther away from them. She could take _Adrien_ far away from them. He ran a hand through his hair and slumped down into his computer chair. Emilie had only been awake for two months. Those two months had been spent rebuilding their tattered family. Regaining his son's faith in him.

Gabriel had no idea why Natalie had suddenly decided to kidnap Adrien. The longer she was gone, the less he was finding he cared about her motives. He just wanted Adrien to be at home asleep in his own bed. His ever-faithful partner in crime was slowly crawling her way into his enemy list. Maybe she would slither all the way to the top of it.

The man felt his throat get tight as he thought about his son. Natalie must have done something to Plagg if the boy hadn't gotten free and come back to them. Was Adrien okay? Of course, he knew Natalie would never hurt the boy. She cared about Adrien, right? Gabriel groaned and sat in his computer chair, slumped over and pressing his face into his hands.

"Are you okay, Gabe?" Emilie's sweet voice filtered into his ears.

He reluctantly parted his fingers to look at her. His beautiful, loving wife. Sometimes the man found it remarkable how much Adrien looked like his mother. It had been painful to look at him while she had been in the coma, now, it was painful to look at her when he was missing. Emilie smiled warmly as she grabbed his hands and held them tightly in her smaller ones.

"I can't just sit here, Em." He told her. "Every moment we wait, she could be getting farther away. _He_ could be getting farther away."

She gave him a smile, her green eyes filling with tears. "I know, darling. But Adrien is a strong, smart boy. He will be okay, he's more capable of protecting himself that we've given him credit for."

Gabriel knew that, he knew that. It was just, whenever he looked at Adrien he could still see that fragile little boy ready to take on the world at the mere age of five. He could see the precious child that both he and his wife promised to protect. The moment he loosened his grip on the reigns, his child was stolen. His heart ached, it felt as if it were falling into a pit.

How could Natalie have betrayed him?

"He is, but he's also trusting." Gabriel admitted bitterly. "Adrien chooses to see the best, even in the worst. He forgave me after all."

Emilie slid her hands around his shoulders, her arms wrapping tightly around him. The man could feel her running his fingers through his hair. He could hear her heart beat, feel her breathe, smell the sweet rose scent coming from her. She could make his darkest hour feel a little less hopeless. A trait he knew full well Adrien had inherited.

"We will find him, Gabriel." She assured him in a wavering voice. "Don't forget we also have a certain lucky girl on our side."

Miss. Dupain-Chang. Gabriel had almost forgotten that she was staying for a couple of nights. He remembered her furiously sending messages to Adrien's phone in hopes of contacting the boy. Of course, Natalie had cut off the boy's communication. She called and promised not to return before the phone was disconnected.

He remembered the look of disbelief on the girl's face during that last phone call. They had all thought the call meant that Adrien would be coming home. It took them an hour to process it before Emilie suggested they all go to bed. She even sent Marinette to Adrien's room for the night. Instead of going to bed, Gabriel spent his time trying to call company that could track his car and throwing the things in his office around when he couldn't get a response.

"Hun," Emilie kissed his cheek. "We need to go to bed."

"How can I sleep?"

She sighed as she pulled him out of the chair. "We just have to try. We know that Natalie won't hurt him. Even though she kidnapped him, he's safe."

….

The morning came quickly for Natalie. She felt exhausted and totally drained, but she couldn't let herself relax. There was no doubt Gabriel was after them like a blood-hound chasing a downed duck. When that man was after something there was nothing stopping him until he got what he wanted. Absolutely nothing.

When she checked the analog clock on the nightstand, it read 6:45 A.M.

Natalie rolled onto her back and rubbed the heel of her hands onto her heavy eyes. They had to get going before they were caught. Against her will, the woman clamored out of the stiff hotel bed. It creaked loudly as if protesting her departure. As much as she wanted to go back to sleep, she had a lot to do in a short amount of time. She turned on the lights, it was painful, but it seemed to chase the last of her sleepiness away.

Adrien was still asleep, not even her turning on the lights seemed to have woken him. She didn't mind. The boy was going to need his sleep. Natalie watched his peaceful face as he slept. His blond hair framed his face in a similar fashion as it was as Chat Noir. She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. He flinched and rolled over in the bed.

It was then Natalie realized how easy he was to recognize. Bringing him into public, even this early in the morning, would be a bad idea. The beautiful blond hair, it would have to go. She hated the idea of changing anything about him. It was bad enough she was taking him away from his home. Now she was going to have to ask more of him.

She bit her lip and pulled the askew blankets back up around his shoulders. It was a relief to see that Plagg had also managed to fall asleep. He wouldn't be able to bite her that way. Unfortunately, unlike Adrien, she needed him awake. She quickly snatched the little creature up by his tail. He gave a tired yelp in surprise, but she quickly silenced him.

"We're going for a quick trip to the store." The told him and wrote a note on a hotel stationary. It was a warning, to make sure that Adrien didn't try to escape or call for help if he woke up while she was gone.

Plagg looked worriedly over at Adrien, "What about him?"

"As long as the two of you behave, you will see him when we get back." She told the kwami sternly. "But that means you have to do as I say, remember, I can recall you to the ring at any time."

The kwami looked skeptical but he didn't argue with her as she shut off the light and left the hotel room. It was cold outside, the frost on the door handle made her fingers sting as she locked it. Still wasn't actually what would keep the boy in place, but it gave her some comfort. Plagg shivered from the cold. Even a tiny godly creature could feel cold. She offered for him to hide in her jacket, but he stubbornly refused.

"You will have to hide in my purse in the store." She told him as she pulled the car out of the parking lot. Natalie made sure to turn up the heat as high as it could go. Plagg curled up gratefully on the heating vents as soon as warm air started pouring out. The kwami gave her a glare, but he couldn't stop the purr rumbling in his throat.

She knew that the trip should be quick. They needed to get on the road as soon as possible, preferably with a new car. Natalie turned into the first super store she found. The parking lot was fairly empty, it was early morning, no one was out. With her hair tucked under Gorilla's hat and Plagg hidden in her purse, the woman walked into the store. She knew she needed to get Adrien some new clothing, withdraw as much money as much money as she could from her account, and disguise herself.

Natalie first went to the boy's clothing section. Adrien was wearing iconic Agreste brand clothing, he'd be easy to recognize. She grabbed a hoodie, a few t-shirts, some beanie hats, and for added measure she decided to buy him a pair of fake glasses. With a haircut, he'd be hard to recognize. She bought herself clothing that'd make her look more like a mother than a business woman.

"So, you really think some new clothing is going to help you get away?" Plagg snarked, his green eye squinted at her from her bag.

She did her best to not let the kwami irritate her, "Among other things. Don't forget, most people are clueless. They'll hardly pay enough attention to him to notice who he really is."

The cat grumbled a reluctant agreement about that before diving farther into the purse. Natalie also bought some hair dye and a pair scissors. They were going to be unrecognizable when she was done. She was relieved to see that the cashier was too tired to really pay attention to her. It couldn't have been fun to be up at seven in the morning.

"We might be able to trade the car before we head back to the hotel." Natalie noted when they returned to the car. "Hopefully I can also empty my account and Adrien's accounts at the bank. We're going to need the money."

"You have it all figured out. Don't you?" Plagg muttered as he curled up on the vent once again.

Of course, she did. She had to make sure she did everything right. If she didn't, Natalie would end up losing Adrien.

….

Adrien felt himself sluggishly wake up, the room had the grey hue of early morning. He could faintly hear the sound of the other patrons in the other rooms moving about. It was unusual to him, the Agreste mansion didn't even let the noise of the traffic outside filter in through its walls. The teen was not used to hearing other people around him. Were they tourist? Or were they just people looking for a quick get away?

"Morning, Plagg." He yawned and rolled over in the bed, his arms were stretched high over his head. Every muscle ached from all the stress he'd been under. Adrien froze when he didn't hear a grumpy reply. "Plagg?"

The teen sat up with a start, his weariness had been flooded away by fear. Neither Natalie or Plagg were in the room. Adrien felt his heart leap to his throat. Where were they? Had he done something wrong? Adrien slipped out of bed and desperately hoped that he was just having a nightmare. He pinched his arm, he wasn't. Adrien saw a note setting on top of the hotel phone.

 _'Adrien,_

 _I took Plagg with me. If you decide to run away or call for help, you won't see him again. We went to the store to get some things we need. I'll be back as soon as I am finished. Stay in the hotel room, keep the curtains drawn. Watch TV if you want. Just keep yourself hidden._

 _-Natalie'_

Adrien wasn't sure if he was relieved or if he was worried. He knew his kwami well, Plagg wouldn't want to behave for their abductor. Then again, Plagg did have his own protective streak running through him. That was evident to Adrien when the kwami all but tried to drag him out of the car the night before. He wanted Adrien to get somewhere safe, even if that meant he'd be alone.

Of course, Adrien wouldn't do it.

The boy had dual motives. To keep Plagg safe was the first reason, there was no question about that. Adrien also wanted to help Natalie. He knew she wasn't as bad as she was trying to be. She must have a reason for doing all of this. Maybe if he got to the bottom of it, she'd take him home.

The blond opened the curtains just a bit, just to get a peak of what was outside. There was a gray mist that was settled around the hotel. With Natalie nowhere in sight, he could just run away, call someone and get rescued. That would require him to abandon his friend. Adrien refused to do that. Even if it was what Plagg would want him to do.

In order to get both, him and Plagg home-he'd have to play along.

Adrien slowly drew the curtains shut, hiding himself from the people walking outside of the room. He felt like he was in prison. Sheltered and hidden away from the world. It was a loneliness that was painfully familiar. But he'd have to endure it so that he wouldn't lose Plagg.

As it turned out, there wasn't much to do in the hotel room. He watched the few channels that were on the T.V. The teen even caught a reiteration of his father's plea for Natalie to bring him home. The man looked so scared and broken. It made his stomach twist up in knots, especially when he caught a glimpse of Marinette biting her lip in the background, her beautiful blue eyes were watery, and her cheeks looked red hot.

She was barely holding herself together.

The teen longed to hug her close and let her know everything would be okay. He never liked to see her cry. She should never have such a look of despair on her face. Marinette should be happy and smiling. His eyes remined on her until they went back to other stories in the news. He would have preferred to see more of Mari, but until he found a way to change his situation, he'd have to settle for his memory of her.

Adrien was beginning to feel claustrophobic in the hotel room. He didn't like being trapped in small spaces, even if those small spaces were the size of an average bed room. After spending his whole life trapped and sheltered, he couldn't stand the idea of being locked up yet again. He flopped down hopelessly on the mattress and rubbed his hands on his face. There had to be some way he could at least tell her he was okay.

There was a gentle thump as the pen from the stationary fell to the carpet.

"A note?" thought aloud as he picked it up.

Technically he wouldn't be breaking any of Natalie's rules. If he hid it cleverly enough, maybe the woman wouldn't even know he had done it. Adrien gave a peek out the curtains to make sure Natalie wasn't in the parking lot before he began to scrawl furiously on the paper. He prayed that Marinette would get it somehow. Adrien knew that his dad would find out they had been at the hotel.

Hopefully they'd come to this room and find the letter.

Maybe writing it was more for Adrien's own sanity than anything. It made him feel better to pretend, even for a moment, that he was writing her while on a long-distance vacation. Pretend that he wasn't being abducted by someone he had thought would never hurt him. He couldn't believe this was who Natalie wanted to be. Adrien grimaced from the ache in his heart.

Why was Natalie doing this?

…..

Natalie was grateful that her assets hadn't been frozen, it also appeared that Gabriel hadn't expected her to access Adrien's account either. She had enough money to set her for the rest of her life. It was more than enough to take care of her and Adrien. To give them both new identities and a fresh start somewhere else. The woman could even grease any palms if someone became too inquisitive.

Getting a new car was a piece of cake, she sold the Agreste car easily since her name was also registered as an owner. She traded it for a more inconspicuous car. It wasn't the most attractive thing in the world, but it'd keep the police from really noticing it. The car was a common model in a dreadfully common color. They'd blend right in. Plagg didn't seem very happy about how easily everything was falling into her lap.

"Cheer up, Plagg." She smiled at the kwami. He was once again curled up on the heater of the car. "Once we're all safe, I'll buy you a whole wheel of camembert."

He gave a bitter laugh, "You can't buy me. Not for all the stinky camembert in the world."

Natalie tried to refrain from turning the air conditioner on and freezing the angry kwami out of his comfy position. She decided against being spiteful towards him. Instead she tried to calculate how long it'd be before Gabriel made his way to the hotel. Even though she ditched the car, the lowjack most likely showed them spending a significant amount of time in one area. Gabriel was a smart man, he'd know they had stopped there for the night.

He'd hope that they'd still be there when he caught up.

She planned to be long gone before then.

"So, why did you leave Adrien's backpack in the car?" Plagg asked. "You didn't let him take it last night either."

"It's just a reminder of our old life, he doesn't need it." She stated simply, she couldn't help but feel bad she did it without the boy's permission.

Plagg squinted in annoyance before tucking his tail over his eyes and falling asleep. He was just like a regular cat. She'd even scratch him behind the ear if it weren't for the fact he'd attack her for it. Natalie didn't mind that he slept through the rest of the drive back to the hotel. There was only so much snark she could take before she snapped.

Natalie was itching to get back to the hotel and then get back on the road. She needed to cut Adrien's hair and take the colored streak out of her own. Then they'd be on their way to find a new home. The woman felt relived when the hotel came into view. This shouldn't take more than an hour.

The motel parking lot wasn't too busy, mainly tourist heading out to explore France. They'd greet her in broken French before taking off on their vacation. Natalie had Plagg hide in her purse until she was back at the room. True to form, Adrien was still there. He laid hopelessly across his bed with his face tucked into the crook of his arm.

"Morning, Adrien." She greeted as she relocked the door behind her.

He peeked at her from around his arm before tucking his face back into place. Natalie gave a sigh and set her supplies on the bed. Adrien once again looked at her, his eyes squinted in confusion at the bags. He looked even more confused as she pulled the scissors out. She beckoned him over to the desk vanity in the room.

Natalie left no room for protest as she made Adrien sit in the desk chair. He blinked in confusion and tried to look back at her, but she forced him to look forward. Her fingers ran through his blond hair one last time, measuring out a length, before making the first cut. The boy went still, his hands fisting on his lap as she continued to lob off more and more of his hair. She could sense that he was itching to escape.

"Lucky for you, I did a brief stent in cosmetology school." She joked lightly as she got through half of his hair. "Meaning, I won't make you look like you lost a fight with a pair of scissors."

Adrien gave a brief hum of acknowledgement as he watched the hair fall around him. The woman knew he liked having his hair the way it normally was. If he were to change his style, she knew he'd want it to be his own choice. But she's been making a lot of decisions for him in the last fifteen hours. What were a few more?

She'd let him make his own choices, eventually.

Maybe when they found somewhere safe to settle and Adrien was more willing to cooperate. For a long time, there was nothing but silence and the sound of the scissors snipping away at the signature Adrien Agreste hair style. Natalie let herself get lost in checking, cutting and checking again. Adrien knew better than to protest or say anything for that matter. Not even Plagg was giving a snide remark.

By the time she was done, he was almost unrecognizable. Short hair made Adrien seem...older. His hair looked feathery and his bangs rested gently above his eye brows. She left it an inch or two longer than his friend Nino had his hair. Adrien frowned at the reflection in the mirror, his fingers ran through the short blond locks.

"Are you done now?"

"Put these on." She ordered as she placed the black beanie and fake glasses in his hands. "I'm going to fix my hair and we will be leaving. Change into one of your new outfits while you're at it."

She caught the sad look on Adrien's face before she walked into the bathroom.

….

Marinette held Adrien's backpack close to her chest. They had followed the low-jack signal to the source; a luxury car sitting pretty at the front of a car lot. It was valued at a price Marinette could never hope to pay. Luckily, Gabriel wasn't the kind of man to play around with. He was having the _stolen_ car returned to the mansion in Paris. Not before searching the car for any clues.

Adrien's backpack was in the trunk of the car. It was a disheartening sight to see. Gabriel got information on the car that Natalie traded for. According to Mr. Agreste, it was the most popular family car in Paris. They were looking for a needle in a haystack. They decided to check a haystack that went by the name _'A True Luxury Vacation Retreat'._

It seemed that they had spent a lot of time there.

Both Emilie and Gabriel were sitting silently in the front of their car. They could do nothing but hold hands across the middle counsel. Emilie's tiny delicate hand was dwarfed by her husbands. She was such a dainty woman. Gorgeous and pristine like a little porcelain doll. Marinette had Emilie to thank for her good looking, sweet boyfriend.

It took too long for Marinette's liking for them to get to the hotel, even then they still didn't know which room Natalie and Adrien would be in. Of course, the man at the counter couldn't tell them what room the woman had rented. He gave an irritated grunt as he gave them a tour of the motel, he used his own master key to open the vacant or unanswered doors.

There were some doors answered by jet-legged tourist and others whose occupants had either checked out or they were off exploring France. With each new door they opened, Marinette could feel her hope of finding Adrien was fading. She knew better than to let herself become taken over with negative emotion.

Even if Hawkmoth was no longer a threat.

Though, Marinette had gotten a visit from Master Fu before they had left the mansion. She had received the butterfly Miraculous with strict orders to only use it if it were unavoidable. If it came down to it, Gabriel might not be happy if she didn't let him know she had it. Master Fu refused to give her any more, he didn't want to risk losing another miraculous.

Nino, Alya, and Chloe were mad that they couldn't join the search.

"Hello, Lady?" The man gave a knock on the door. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at the hotel manager. "She came in last night, asking about a room for her and her son."

An alarm rang off in Marinette's head. Something told her _this_ had to be the room. She resisted the urge to rip the master key from the man's hand and bursting in the room. Gabriel didn't have the same hesitation as her. The man gave a grunt of protest as he was knocked aside by the concerned father.

He threw the door open; it was unbearably dark and empty.

"They're gone." Gabriel cursed and slammed the door into the wall hard enough to dent the plaster.

"You're paying for that!" Marinette heard the manager growl, the smell of the plaster dust tumbled into the air.

The bed sheets remained skew, as if the tenants had left in a hurry. There was an ammonia smell in the air. Marinette wasn't sure what it was, but she scrunched her nose up. It made her feel a bit sick. She heard the manager grumble and stomp back to the office.

Tikki burst out of her purse with wide, frantic blue eyes. "Plagg was here, I can smell him."

That meant Adrien had defiantly been here too. Marinette searched the room for any sign of the blond. She took a step forward and felt her foot slip on something. Her eyes casted down to the blond hair that coated the floor by the desk.

Natalie cut Adrien's hair?

The girl felt her hand tremble as she grabbed the blond locks. They were smooth and silky to the touch. It must have been an attempt to make him hard to recognize. Marinette realized that the ammonia smell must have been hair dye. Was he no longer blond? What else had she changed about him?

Emilie stifled a gasp as she also picked up some of the abandon blond hair. The woman looked absolutely heart broken as she cupped it close to her chest. Almost as if she were holding the most precious thing in the world. It was hard to see traces of the boy and not the boy himself.

"His beautiful blond hair." Emilie moaned woefully. "I used to put it in pigtails when he was little. He'd complain, but I thought he looked adorable."

Marinette could imagine you could put anything on that boy and it would be adorable. He was _Adrien Agreste_ after all. To her he could smell like Plagg's stinky camembert and he'd still be endearing. The teen let the locks of hair slip from her fingers and continued to search the room. Maybe she'd find some sort of clue where they had gone.

As she approached the bathroom, the ammonia smell became even stronger. It almost made her dizzy. The sink was covered in dark stain marks. Natalie must have been in a hurry to get the red streak out of her hair. Had she dyed Adrien's hair too? Marinette couldn't imagine him any other way than with his tan face framed by blond hair.

There were stained towels and a pair of abandoned scissors on the sink counter. The teen could never imagine Natalie would have been this sloppy, but the woman had never been this frantic either. When she hadn't found anything that could help her, Marinette returned to Gabriel and Emilie. Adrien's mom searched drawers while her husband tore through the mattresses and checked under the bed for clues.

He wasn't paying attention as he tossed a pillow at Marinette's head. Gabriel hadn't noticed the surprised yelp she gave as she was hit in the face. She didn't blame him for being so distracted, but she wished he wouldn't toss stuff at her head.

"Huh?" Marinette watched as a folded piece of paper fluttered to the ground. She recognized the handwriting immediately.

 _'_ _Princess,_

 _I hope you were able to find this letter, Buggaboo. Plagg and I are okay. Unfortunately, I can't give you more than that. Natalie hasn't told me where we're going or what she even has planned. She destroyed my phone and said something about my dad being able to track the car….so I'm pretty sure she'll find a way to get rid of it. Natalie also took the ring, I never thought she would do that, but she's been threatening to separate Plagg and I. I'm taking a risk writing this note for you. I just saw you on the news report and I hate seeing you sad. I promise, I'll get back to you. I love you._

 _-Kitty_

There weren't any of his normal puns or traces of his humor, but it did make Marinette feel just a bit better. She knew that Adrien was alright and that would help her keep going. No matter how long it took, she would find her kitty. Marinette showed the Agreste parents the note.

"At least we know why he hasn't escaped." Gabriel sighed. "It still doesn't help our situation. Adrien will be too stubborn to abandon his kwami."

Marinette felt her heart sink a little, because she knew he was right.

….

It had been a close call. Gabriel, Emilie, _and_ Marinette had driven by them. She wondered if they were heading to the hotel. Of course, the room would be empty, she had long since packed Adrien and herself up. Adrien noticed them too, his green eyes went wide, and his glasses slid down his nose as he whipped around to get another glance at his family. His mouth fell open as if he wanted to yell for them. Natalie cleared her throat and he turned to sit right in the seat.

The hoody, glasses, and hat did wonders to make him look different. She wouldn't recognize him with a glance. A little bit of his blond hair stuck out from under the hat. The glasses were a bit big and the hoody was a bit baggy, but it was enough. Natalie planned to buy more clothing for him when they found a place to settle down, for now, this would have to do.

Adrien slouched down in annoyance and looked angrily out the passenger window. Natalie decided it'd be best to leave him be. Plagg was curled up on the boy's shoulder, his black fur blended almost perfectly with the hoodie. He was asleep now, content to be as close to the boy as possible. It was going to be a long ride.

She tried to play some music, maybe get Adrien to sing along. He liked to sing when he was sad. This time, he didn't.

The towns passed by in blurs, Natalie didn't stop until she found a cute little restaurant a few towns away from the hotel. Adrien had to be hungry; she hadn't missed the forlorn glances he'd give other restaurants they had passed. The teen seemed surprised that she came to a stop in the parking lot.

"We missed breakfast, you must be hungry." She gave him a warm smile. It didn't surprise her that he hadn't returned the gesture.

 _Give it time_. Natalie told herself, she resisted the urge to grab his hand or fix the hat on his head. _He'll come around, eventually_.

"I guess, I'm hungry." He agreed as he gently scooped Plagg off of his shoulder and tucked the kwami into the hoody pocket. "Maybe they'll have some camembert for Plagg."

The restaurant was quiet, peaceful. Natalie felt her own stomach grumble as the aroma of the cooking food reached her nose. She saw Adrien sniffing around with a longing look on his face. When had he last eaten? Lunch at school the day before? He had to be starving. The two sat at a table close to the door. It was the lunch rush so the restaurant was fairly crowded.

"Hello, welcome to _Pier's_." A cheeky young waitress greeted and handed them some menus. "Is there anything you would like to drink?"

"Water." The two said in unison. Adrien blushed and looked away as if he were ashamed. He was acting like a normal teenager, that was for sure.

She watched as he sat quietly in his chair, he busied himself with reading the menu, avoiding eye contact with her. Natalie could see a few of the young girls in the restaurant were also watching. Their eyes were on the blond. For a scary moment she thought they'd recognize him, but they just gushed about how good-looking Adrien was. Typical teenage stuff.

One of the braver girls even came up to talk to them. "Hey, I think you're cute. Could I have your number?"

"I…I don't have a phone." Adrien told her, a little startled by the girl being so forward. When she tried to slip him a napkin with her number he politely refused. "I'm sorry, you're all really pretty, but I've already got a girlfriend back home."

"Relationships change all the time." The girl told him and pushed the napkin at him again. "You might break up, and I'd like to get a call from you when that happens."

A patient smile came to Adrien's face. "I doubt it, I love her."

All the girls at her table cooed when they heard him. The girl flirting with him huffed a little before returning to her friends. Natalie felt a little envious of the girl's courage. Why hadn't Natalie been able to be so confident in telling Gabriel how she felt? She knew why. Like this girl, she pined after someone who was already spoken for.

When she realized she couldn't have him, she took his son instead. Well, Adrien was _her_ son now.

"We better eat quick, so we can get on the road." She told him. Adrien gave her a expression akin to a wounded kitten. Natalie reached out to pat his hand, the teen retracted it before she could touch him.

"It's not too late to go back." He told her. "They're probably only a few hours away, we can turn around and…"

Natalie bit her lip and hoped that the Agreste family was more than a few hours behind. She could see Adrien was desperate to change her mind. The confidence he had in the car the night before, before she had taken his ring, it was gone. He looked now like a scared kid, even as he tried to reason with her. Adrien kept his voice level and quiet, as if to keep his pleas as quiet as possible.

Smart boy. He knew what would happen if he made a scene. That didn't stop him from persisting to ask for her to let him go.

"No." She snipped. "We are not going back."

He tried to say something more, but the waitress had returned to take their order. Natalie ordered something small for herself. When the waitress tried to get the boy's order, he seemed to have sunken down even farther in his seat. A sad frown arched on the teen's face. He didn't want to speak anymore. The woman had already decided that he needed to eat so she ordered for him.

"He'll have the chicken parmesan and a salad with camembert on the side."

Did Natalie feel bad for putting Adrien through all of this? Yes, yes she did. He had so much faith in her, in her being a good person. Even after having him separated from his family and girlfriend for a whole day hadn't seemed to shake that faith from his heart. She didn't know how he could have so much trust and earnest compassion for even the worst of the worst. Adrien really didn't understand how cruel and evil the world could be.

For the moment, Adrien had fallen back into his complacent nature. It was like watching a turtle retreat into its shell. He flinched a little as she adjusted the hat on his head and brushed some fallen strands of hair from his shoulder. She was his mother now, she had to get used to being more affectionate, especially considering Adrien pined for attention and affection from Gabriel.

It always hurt her to watch how much Adrien had suffered along with his father.

If Gabriel had stopped looking for ways to save Emilie after the failure of Style Queen, could the three of them have become a happy family instead? She had always hoped that one day, Gabriel would wake up and profess his love for her. One day Adrien would call her mom. One day she would have been known as Mrs. Agreste. Then Emilie had been saved and her dreams were slipping through her fingers like sand.

She hadn't intended to end up miles out of Paris with an abducted Adrien Agreste. None of this was really meant to happen, but maybe half of her dream could come true, if she played her cards right. If she was patient. Adrien was every bit like his parents. Stubborn, brave, and a bit quick tempered. It would take time to get him to see, to get him to understand that this was for the best.

But he would, eventually.

"I wonder what Nino's doing?" Adrien thought aloud as he looked out the restaurant window. "We had a project we were going to work on together. I had all of the research in my backpack."

Natalie felt a jolt of annoyance, she tried to wash down the lump in her throat with a sip of her water. "You don't have to worry about your homework anymore. I will resume your homeschool studies."

"But…." Adrien's jaw fell open. "I hate being homeschooled."

"How else am I going to keep an eye on you? Ensure that no one takes you from me?"

The teen opened his mouth to say something when a shrill scream ripped through the quiet atmosphere. It was one of the girls that had been flirting with him. They were all crowded around her phone looking as if someone had told them the world was ending. One of the girls who hadn't been able to read the screen asked what was going on. The girl holding the phone sobbed as she shoved it into her friend's face.

"Adrien Agreste." She sniffled. "He's been _kidnapped_!"

"No way."

"He's so hot. Why is it always the hot ones who get taken away?"

Every fiber of Natalie's being told her she needed to get Adrien out of the restaurant and away from those girls. They might realize who he is. Fortunately, they were too into the article on the phone to give Adrien or her a second glance. There was a swirl of emotion going through Adrien's eyes as he watched the girls fuss about his disappearance. It was almost like wanted to jump up and shout: _I'm here, I'm here, I'm_ right _here!_

Of course, the ring around her finger was a tether, unless he was willing to abandon Plagg, Adrien wasn't going anywhere.

"Here's your lunches." The waitress grinned at the two before leaving to help her next customer.

Adrien hesitated for a moment before he gave into his hunger and eagerly cowed down on his long-awaited meal. She really shouldn't have made him go so long without eating. The blond wrapped some of the cheese in a napkin for Plagg along with some bread and chicken. She also ate with a little bit of gusto. It wouldn't be good if one of the girls finally recognized Adrien.

She watched as the teen finished his meal, shoving the scraps he had collected into the hood pocket with Plagg. Maybe the kwami was awake. Adrien didn't give her any indication if the tiny cat was one way or the other. Natalie quickly downed the rest of her meal and asked their waitress for the check. An antsy look came to Adrien's face after she said that.

"Natalie." He spoke urgently, "Can't you just call and talk to my dad? Work this out like rational…"

"Enough!" She shouted, her patients running thin. Her outburst was followed by a courses of silverware clanging on plates. The boy sitting across from her looked startled. Natalie leaned closer and lowered her voice significantly. "I will not be calling your father. I will not be going back to Paris. And I will _not_ be letting you go. That is something you are going to have to learn to accept."

Natalie clumsily dug some money out of her purse, probably more than enough to pay their bill, and grabbed the teen's arm. She dragged the boy to the car and shoved him into his seat with minimal protest. The sound of their tires squealing on the pavement reverberated through the air as Natalie drove as far as she could as fast as she could.

"You should buckle up." She warned off handedly. "We've got a long way to go before we're home."

"And we're only getting farther." Adrien sighed before clicking his seat belt into place.

….

….

Adrien sighed as he stared out the window of his bedroom. It had been three weeks since Natalie kidnapped him. All of Europe was well into its winter and a beautiful layer of snow blanketed the forest around the cabin. Natalie was quick to buy this home out in the middle of nowhere. Since she payed cash, no questions were asked.

They fell into a routine similar to what life had been like before he went to public schools. She'd homeschool him for a couple hours and then the rest of the day, he could do as he wanted. So long as he wasn't seen by anyone outside. Though considering they were nestled deep in a labyrinth of trees, he doubted anyone would be able to spot him walking around the front yard. Natalie would leave him alone at the house sometimes. But she would take Plagg and the ring with her.

Christmas would be arriving soon and they still hadn't managed to escape.

Adrien had tried to get the ring one night, after they had moved in, when Natalie had fallen asleep on the couch. No matter what he said to her, Natalie wanted to persist on this path. Sometimes she'd get angry enough to lock him in his room to escape his attempts to change her mind. So, Adrien tried to take matters into his own hands. She woke up when he had been unfortunate enough to step on a creaking floor board.

 _"_ _Plagg, I renounce you!_ " She shouted after grabbing the teen's wrist, Plagg disappeared with a worried yelp. Adrien vividly remembered her throwing him to the floor and marching to the door, the ring was held tightly in her grasp.

 _"_ _What are you doing?_ " Adrien squeaked as he scrambled to chase after her. She hadn't been bluffing about Plagg. " _Natalie, wait, stop, STOP!_ "

Natalie showed no sign of hearing him as she rushed into the woods. The trees were bright and cheery colors, the warm colors of fall, but they were a complete contrast to how he had been feeling in that moment. To his horror she came to a stop at a lake. He watched as she drew her arm back, ready to throw away the only link Adrien had to Plagg. To his normal life.

" _Please, don't_!" He begged.

She brought her arm close to her side. " _I can throw this, Adrien_. _Even you can't search the whole lake to find the ring. It's too deep._ "

" _Please Natalie, I'm sorry, I won't try it again."_

Natalie squinted her blue eye at him, " _Do you promise?_ "

" _Yes._ " He nodded frantically. " _I promise. Please bring Plagg back._ "

After that day, Adrien made no attempt to take the ring. He didn't want to risk losing Plagg. When recalled to the ring, there was no way for the kwami to escape or even interact with the human world. It would be a cruel thing to put him through. Especially when the kwami was so in love with his other half. And she loved him back.

Both Natalie and Plagg were out at the store so Adrien was left alone at the house.

He was surrounded by every manor of books and an abundance of DVD's. All the finest luxury Natalie saw fit to buy, but all the fancy toys and clothing she bought for him made him feel like a doll in a doll house. She wasn't cold, in fact, she had been warmer than he had ever seen her before. The secretary acted like a mother.

It'd almost seem normal to someone on the outside, but it sent all forms of mixed emotions through Adrien's head. He still couldn't make sense of anything Natalie was doing. The teen heard her mention his father a couple of times. What had his dad done to make Natalie resort to kidnapping him? Adrien was afraid to ask her.

What if it was something he didn't want to know?

It was hard for Adrien to sit still, to watch as the world seemingly went on without him. He felt abandoned being locked up in the house with no one other than Natalie and Plagg to keep him company. It was even worse when they were gone. Adrien wanted so desperately to save Natalie too, but that was keeping him from escaping.

There had to be some good left in her somewhere. Right?

Adrien curled tightly around his knees as the snow began to blow violently outside. He remembered the first Christmas he spent without his mom, when Marinette had given him his hat. The teen never realized how she had been there for him, even before they started dating. He wished she were here now. Was she still out looking for him?

Did her parents make her go back to school?

Was she _missing_ school in an attempt to find him? Adrien didn't know what was worse; her not looking for him, or her putting her life on hold trying to find him. It made him feel guilty. Marinette should be happy and spending time with their friends. Instead she might be out there, already spending nearly a month looking for him

"Adrien." Natalie's voice echoed through the house. "We're home. Are you hungry?"

He felt as if his lips were sewn shut. Adrien didn't feel like being polite and greeting her back. It was hard for him to get out of bed sometimes. He'd just turn over and dream about being back home with his friends and family surrounding him. Even Natalie would be there.

He could hear Natalie's footsteps come softly, "Adrien?"

"I'm here." He answered in a small voice.

Natalie entered the room with a gentle smile on her face. Ever since they had found this house, she seemed to be more relaxed. She was making an attempt to make their lives feel as normal as possible. Adrien hardly flinched as she walked up and ran her hand through his hair. It was still short and not at all like him.

"What would you like to eat?" She asked and sat by the window with him. "I can make some pasta and asparagus. Or maybe you and I could make some homemade pizza together, you know we haven't used that pizza oven I bought."

"I'm not that hungry." Adrien told her as he went back to watching the snow fall.

Natalie frowned and placed her hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling okay? You hardly touched your breakfast or lunch today."

He wasn't feeling hungry, he didn't want to eat despite the emptiness that seemed to grow inside of him. The woman frowned and pulled him in for a hug. Adrien could hear the steady rhythm of her heart, feel her fingers play with his hair. He could close his eyes and pretend that she was his mom, but that would make him cry. He missed his mom, his dad, Marinette, his friends at home. Adrien even missed Chloe fawning over him.

It was hard to keep his eyes from watering. Adrien bit his lip in a desperate attempt to keep his tears in. There was something about being hugged that seemed to break down all the walls around a person's heart.

"I know this is hard, Adrien." She sighed as she began to rock the both of them back and forth. "But this is your home now. I'm your only family."

 _No_. He refrained from saying that aloud. _I want to go to my_ real _home_.

"How about I make dinner and then you come down when it's ready?" Natalie offered. She placed a kiss on his head before she walked out of the room.

Adrien listened as her steps faded away, only allowing himself to react when she was out of earshot. He felt so weak, crying like a little child. The teen wiped the persistent tears that escaped him away. Plagg floated towards him. He said nothing as he curled up on the teen's shoulder. His purring always had a calming effect on Adrien.

"What are we going to do, Plagg?" Adrien asked as he scratched the kwami on the head.

"You could leave without me." Plagg suggested, the snippy tone he normally had when making that recommendation was dulled. "But you _won't_."

The blond gave a smirk, "You're family, I won't abandon you. No matter how much you smell like rotten cheese."

Adrien felt Plagg's tail whip against his cheek. "I'll have you know, camembert is one of the best smells in the world."

"Are you sure? Because you're starting to make the room smell." Adrien pinched his nose and as an extra measure to tease his friend he opened the window.

It was worth the cold blast of air on his face to see the indignant look come to Plagg's. He loved to tease his friend a little bit. Plagg's expression suddenly changed as more cold air rushed into the room. He tilted his head up and floated closer to the open window. Adrien could see his little nose twitching furiously. A spark of familiarity came to life in the kwami's eyes.

"Sugar cube?" Plagg whimpered.

"'Sugar cube?'" Adrien echoed, hope raced in his heart. "You mean Tikki? Is she close enough for you to smell her?"

The cat kwami arched an eyebrow. "I think I'd remember what my soul mate smells like, Adrien. They're not too far from here, maybe in town. They must have arrived when Natalie and I were on our way back here, otherwise I would have smelled her sooner."

If Tikki was out there, that meant that Mari was close too. His parents may be the next town over! Maybe they knew exactly where they were, with their help, he'll be able to get the ring from Natalie and bring this all to an end. Plagg floated out the window.

"Where are you going?" Adrien kept his voice as quiet as he could. It was hard to talk over the roaring wind.

"I'm going to find her." Plagg assured the teen. "I'll tell them where you are and bring them here. You just need to pretend that everything is normal."

Adrien felt another wave of cold are buffer him, he could see Plagg was also having a hard time fighting against the current of the wind. It'd be dangerous for the kwami to go flying out in the cold, especially when night was creeping upon them. Plagg had floated far enough that that Adrien wouldn't be able to grab him.

"Be careful, Plagg." Adrien pled. He knew that the wind carried his voice away before the kwami had even heard it.

Adrien reluctantly closed the window and let the warmth return to his skin. The teen silently prayed that Plagg would make it to Tikki safely. He'd have to find an excuse to give Natalie if she asked.

…..

She had never been much of a cook, Natalie knew that. It hadn't been her top priority when she was just a normal secretary, but now she was a mother. Or she was at least trying to be one. She had gotten to the point that Adrien wouldn't flinch when she touched him, and he'd relax when she hugged him. Natalie didn't know if it was out of necessity or because he was actually becoming comfortable with their new life.

The woman hoped that it was the later.

Natalie frowned and glared at the cook book in accusation. She had chosen to make spaghetti with a fancy pasta sauce and she couldn't help but feel she was doing something wrong. How did anyone get a meal made without a personal chief to ensure it was perfect? She was made for business, not to work in a kitchen. The woman could hardly bring herself to stay focused on keeping track of time.

She couldn't help but feel worried about Adrien.

He was so sad, so lonely. She wished that he could have friends, but someone would be bound to recognize the boy. Or, knowing how clever Adrien can be, he'd find a way to communicate with his friends back in Paris. No. It was better he stays out of sight and out of mind from the people of Europe. They had already stopped talking about the kidnapping on the news and in articles. Soon he'd just be another forgotten kid.

It would only be his friends and close family looking for him now. Or maybe Marinette had been sent back home to resume her normal routine. That would mean Gabriel and Emilie were alone searching for their missing child. There was still a part of her that felt guilty, a part that wanted to take Adrien back and tell Gabriel that she loved him. The man would never accept her feelings now. Not after being nearly a month without his child.

Correction, _her_ child. Adrien was her son now.

"Natalie?" He called as he came into the kitchen.

"I'm in here, Adrien."

She was a little bit surprised to see the boy seeking her out, but she didn't want to question it if he was coming around. Adrien looked curiously in the pots on the stove. It was good to see that he was getting a bit of an appetite. The little amount he was eating was not enough for her liking.

"So, you're making the pasta?" He asked. "Do you need any help?"

She smiled, feeling a homey warmth wash over her. This was a step in the right direction. "I've almost finished the pasta, how about you set the table?"

Adrien gave her a nod and did as he was asked. There was no smile or air of happiness around him, Natalie could tell he was still sad. Maybe spending more time with him would cheer him up? She had bought some movies while she had been out. They could enjoy a night on the couch and she could even postpone his homework being due for a couple days.

It took her only moments to finish their meal. Just long enough for Adrien to finish setting the table. Seeing Adrien sitting alone at the table made an inkling of concern come to her mind. She wasn't sure what about the image was making her feel that way. Then she realized that something was missing.

Or someone.

"Where's Plagg?" Natalie asked as she set the pasta on the table. "I'm sure he's hungry too."

Adrien blinked at her, "Oh, he's sleeping. You know him, he'd sleep all day if you let him."

"We'll have to set a plate aside for him, I suppose."

It all seemed a bit suspicious, but she had to give him the benefit of the doubt. They were family after all.

…..

Another day, another hotel, another crack forming in their hearts. Marinette knew that she couldn't stay on the road forever. While Emilie was an _amazing_ substitution to public school, her parents insisted she come home for Christmas and then return to her regular schedule. She knew it killed them to demand so much of her, but they also wanted what was best for her. Each day that passed left Marinette feeling more and more hopeless.

"You should get some sleep, Marinette." Emilie insisted. The woman had dragged the two fashion designers to dinner. It wasn't easy to get Marinette or Gabriel to eat anything as of late. Luckily, Emilie seemed to emanate the same charm that her son had.

So she was able to persuade anyone.

Marinette rubbed her eyes, she had been sitting at a desk in the hotel room ever since they came back from dinner. Doing a bit of the homework Emilie had given her, but mostly going over all confirmed sightings of Natalie and Adrien. Marinette had convinced Emilie and Gabriel that this was where Natalie and Adrien were. This is where it seemed she had been heading, but the trail had unfortunately gone cold. Tikki floated next to her, munching sadly on a cookie the teen had snuck back from desert. The kwami was becoming more and more recluse each day. She hardly talked unless it had something to do with finding the boys. Tikki didn't even seem to find any joy in her little treats.

When the little kwami flew to sit at the window sill, Marinette decided it would be best to let her friend have a moment to herself. The teen told Emilie goodnight and got ready for bed. She hadn't realized how tired she was until her head hit the pillow. It was a luxurious pillow. Nothing like she had back home. It felt like she was sleeping on a cloud.

Marinette mostly dreamt about Adrien; about them fighting side by side to protect Paris. She dreamt about their first real kiss. They were wonderfully painful dreams. While her mind told her it was all real, her heart reminded her he was off to parts unknown. It was still nice to dream.

 _Tap, tap, tap…tap, tap, tap_

"Huh?" Marinette rolled over, her brows furrowed as she was brought back into consciousness.

Something was tapping at her window, she would have thought it was a tree, but she was on a level in the hotel far above the tree line. Her mind was taken back to a time Adrien had come around tapping on windows at her house late in the day. It couldn't be him, could it? She opened her eyes to darkness. It was hard to make out any of the luxurious things that surrounded her.

"Did you hear that too?" Tikki asked. Marinette could see the kwami sitting up on the pillow next to her.

 _TAP, tap, tap, TAP_

Marinette's blue eyes slowly rolled over to the pitch-black window. She couldn't help but feel her heart racing. The girl had a fear of being scared by things. Not as bad as Mylene, but she wasn't very heroic outside of her superhero persona. Her heart raced as she slipped out from the safety of her silky, warm blankets. She carefully made her way to the offending window.

What could be tapping so deliberately on a hotel window so high in the air?

At first there was nothing except the inky darkness of the night. Mari wondered if it was just hailing outside. Maybe that's what she and Tikki were hearing. Just as she had assured herself that was the case, a pair of luminous green eyes stared at her. She screamed loudly and tumbled backwards. She was sure she was about to be killed by a vicious monster of some sort.

"I'd know those eyes anywhere!" Tikki hollered as she zipped to the window. She hurriedly opened the window. A cold rush of air pushed a tiny black figure into the room. Marinette quickly closed the window after. " _Plagg!_ "

Marinette thought she was dreaming again. Was this real? The girl scrambled to turn on the lights. She was greeted by the sight of Tikki on the ground cradling a small, ice coated creature. It was hard to recognize him, but it was Plagg under the build up of ice and snow. His teeth chattered as he lay shivering on the floor.

The teen grabbed the plush blanket that had been folded neatly across her bed and wrapped the chilled kwami in it. She carried him to the bathroom, usually hotel bathrooms had complementary hair dryers. That could help Plagg. Marinette quickly set the bundle on the sink counter and pulled the device out of the cabinet. Tikki hovered fretfully, her tiny hands clamped tightly onto the cat's.

"It's going to get really warm." Marinette warned as she turned it on. It was only low, but it still seemed to be too strong for Plagg's weakened state.

She had so many questions, but first she needed to get the ice that covered his body melted. Marinette heard two pairs of feet rushing into the bathroom. It was the Agrestes, she didn't have to turn around to know that.

"Marinette, what's wrong?" Gabriel asked as they entered the bathroom. "Are you alright?"

"Was it a bad dream, dear?"

Marinette watched as Plagg fell asleep from the heat of the blow dryer. He knew where Adrien was. She was sure he came all this way to tell them. Soon, the nightmare would be over. The teen gave the sleeping kwami's head a pet, he purred and leaned into the touch. Such a silly kitty.

She looked over at Adrien's parents, tears began to form in her eyes, but a smile spread on her face. "More like a dream come true."

When Adrien's parents saw the little black kwami nestled in the blanket, they seemed to stop breathing. Emilie was the first to come forward, she knelt next to the teen and stared at the little chilled kwami. Gabriel came up next.

"How did he get here? Where did he come from?" Gabriel knelt next to both girls, his eyes never once left the kwami.

By this point, the ice was almost completely gone, Plagg was still shivering. Marinette feared he'd get sick. She _knew_ Adrien wouldn't _choose_ to send his kwami out in the blizzard. This was a decision Plagg made for himself. But how did he know where they were?

Marinette did her best to be gentle as she plucked the broken ice shards from the little cat. He had to be so exhausted.

"Could you have room service bring up some cheese?" Marinette asked. "Camembert would be what he prefers."

Gabriel did so, eager to get Plagg back on his feet and talking to them. It may have been late at night, they were all wide awake. Especially, Tikki who had begun to fuss over Plagg, grabbing a warm dry towel to replace the damp blanket. Her eagerness to care for Plagg was rather cute, it reminded Marinette of herself with Adrien.

Plagg only woke when the stinky aroma of Camembert cheese flooded into the room. "Food."

It didn't take him long to inhale the generous mound of cheese, patting his belly gratefully when he was finished. He still seemed tired, but he was better than he had been before. His green eyes sparkled when he saw Tikki hovering around him.

"Sugar Cube!" He greeted and flew up to hug her. His flight stalled short, but the red kwami was more than ready to catch him.

"Plagg." Tikki teared up as she gently guided him back onto the towel. "You silly, cat. How did you get here?"

"Well there is only one sent I love more than Camembert." He bounced his eyebrows coyly. "Adrien thought it'd be funny to tease me about my cheese-esk musk and opened a window at the house. The wind blew just right, and I followed your sent as fast as I could."

Tikki cooed and nuzzled his face with her own. The teen couldn't help but smirk. This was the magical deity that complained about Adrien being a romantic. He would gag anytime the blond did anything sweet for Marinette, but at the end of the day, Plagg was just as much of a gooey romantic as Adrien.

"I know you are recovering, Plagg, but I assume you are here to tell us where Adrien is." Gabriel was barely containing himself. Marinette knew that losing Adrien, to a supposed friend no less, wasn't sitting right with Gabriel.

"Oh yeah." Plagg stretched his arms above his head. "We need to get going before she notices I'm gone, if she hasn't already. Adrien's probably worried about me too."

The very mention of Adrien, the three humans had an onslaught of questions for the kwami. Plagg did his best to answer them all. _Is Adrien okay?_ Yes. _Has Natalie hurt him?_ No. Plagg's ears flattened against his head the longer the interrogation went on.

"Adrien won't be fine if we keep talking instead of getting to him." Plagg growled. "As fun as it is to catch up, we need to go _now._ "

Plagg flew up, trying to look determined, but his ice-cold body was still too numb to keep himself a float. It was Marinette who had caught him this time. Despite his time under the hair dryer, Plagg was as cold as a rock. She held him close, gently cupping her hands over his body to keep him warm.

"Plagg is right." Marinette agreed, "We need to go."

She wanted to see Adrien again. It seemed as if Emilie and Gabriel agreed with her. It took no time at all for them to get dressed and load themselves into the car. Plagg was tucked into the hood of Marinette's jacket, curled closely to Marinette's neck. It felt like someone was pressing their cold hands onto her skin, but she knew Plagg was going to need all the strength he could get. She could hear him snoring and purring. It was actually tickling her.

They were following their G.P.S to the address Plagg had given them. Gabriel wasn't trying to be careful as he tore down the road. It was a time of day where the roads were empty. Emilie was encouraging the teen to sleep while they drove. The G.P.S estimated they wouldn't arrive until morning. It would be best to be rested.

Marinette was still tired, with the excitement of Plagg startling her with his arrival fading, the girl was beginning to feel sleepy again. Plagg's purring was making it easy to fall asleep. The last thought she had before she fell back to sleep was about the butterfly miraculous that was tucked into her coat pocket. She may have to give it to Gabriel to ensure they can get Adrien back.

…..

It was mid sunrise when Plagg had finally returned home. Natalie felt a pang in her chest when she realized that Adrien had lied. Both he and the kwami had planned another escape attempt. The little cat tried to float up the stairs and to the boy's room without being noticed, his flight looked a bit stiff and difficult. He must have nearly frozen during his flight out the night before. It had gotten very cold.

"So, how far are they?" She demanded briskly. Plagg stalled just short of the stairs, his green eyes went large at the sight of her. Before the kwami could answer she growled out, "I renounce your power, Plagg."

The scream the cat gave was so weak she had barely heard it. Natalie didn't doubt that Gabriel and the others were nearly upon them. She needed to get Adrien away from them.

"Adrien!" Natalie shouted up the stairs. "Get down here, now."

He obayed, surprised when the woman gabbed tightly onto his arm and yank him off the last few steps. She didn't answer his questions as she dragged him through the Livingroom. Unfortunately for her, the large window that gave them a view of the beautiful forest surrounding them, also gave them a clear view of the three people standing just outside the house. They looked like they were having an argument. Natalie hoped it would stay that way long enough for them to escape.

Adrien had other plans. "Mari-…"

Natalie clamped her hand tightly over Adrien's mouth before he could call for help. She held him close and ducked out of sight. The teen squirmed against her grip but couldn't pull himself free. How had they found the two of them? She had been so careful, she kept Adrien hidden and out of sight. No one should have been able to place them. It was the kwami's fault.

"Stop fighting me, Adrien." She hissed.

Natalie grabbed a zip tie from the stand next to her. She had them to tie together her gardening equipment, she had been planning on growing their own food come spring, but they now had a new purpose. Somehow Natalie had managed to catch the squirming boy's wrist in the plastic and tightened it around them. Adrien huffed, after a bit more struggling, he went still.

If it was preserving energy for an escape or because he had actually tired himself out, Natalie didn't know.

With Adrien pressed tightly against her she tried to listen to the group outside. The snow crunched as their feet stomped through it. They were getting close to the house. She had to think fast, Natalie released the boy's mouth and grabbed him by his bound wrist. He was a bit stunned as she began to drag him farther into the cabin. There was a back door they could escape from, but she needed a distraction.

Natalie's eyes rested on the fire that waved at her in the middle of the room. The whole house going up in flames would be a good distraction. She took the small charcoal shovel from its holder next to the fire place and flicked out a few burning logs and hot coals. They ate away at the carpet and floor immediately.

"We need to get out of here, now." She told Adrien. He tried to scramble away, but she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Natalie." He pleaded as she dragged him to the back door. "You can't get away. Just surrender, please."

She didn't listen, even when they were outside with the cold air ripping through their clothing. Adrien tried to pull away, but his shoes couldn't get any traction in the snow. There wasn't any real destination she was planning on going. There was nothing behind the house for miles. They might freeze to death before they found a place to hide.

"Stop right there, Natalie!" Marinette growled, a yo-yo wrapped its self around the woman's ankle and pulled her off balance. Both Adrien and Natalie fell into the ice-cold snow.

Natalie had lost her grip on Adrien as she fell. She made a desperate grab for him, but a blond woman in a mask pulled him away before she could. A feeling of dread washed over Natalie as Adrien was carried away, away from her. The woman heard an inhuman sound rip from her lungs as she tried to chase after them. Ladybug's yo-yo caught her short.

"Let me go!" She screamed at the teen. "He's mine, he's mine, he's mine! Adrien is _my_ son."

"If you truly felt like that," Marinette began, her eyes looking very sad. "if you loved him that much, you wouldn't go to such desperate measures to keep him to yourself."

 _If you love him, let him go_.

The girl never said that, but Natalie knew that's what she was getting at. But if Natalie let him go, she'd never get to see him again. After keeping him away from Gabriel and Emilie for so long, she'd be lucky to be able to look at a picture of Adrien. She had to keep fighting for him. With Plagg trapped in the ring and Ladybug standing over her, she didn't have to many options. Natalie sobbed when she realized Adrien and the blond woman, whom she was sure was Emilie, were out of her sight.

"Give me the ring, please." The girl pleaded but didn't look like she was going to rip it off Natalie's hand. "It doesn't belong to you."

Natalie gripped some snow in her hand, she could feel the skin sting and turn red. She had one chance. In one swift movement she threw a slightly packed clump of snow in the teen's face. Marinette's surprise gave her enough time to detangle her ankle and take off running after Adrien and Emilie.

"Plagg, I summon you." She ordered. "Appear to me, NOW!"

The Kwami had just barely returned when she ordered him to transform her. Plagg protested the whole time, but he ultimately had to succumb to her command. Natalie had known what it felt like to be merged with a kwami, but Dussu was completely different from the cat. This transformation was stronger, faster. The familiar feeling of being a misaligned puzzle piece came over her.

Just like Dussu, Natalie wasn't meant to be the one wielding the ring's power. She just had to endure it until she got Adrien back. Natalie clumsily flew through the air with the aid of her baton. To the woman's relief, she spotted Emilie gliding over the burning house with Adrien wrapped tightly in her arms. Natalie realized that Gabriel must have granted her powers with the butterfly miraculous.

"Give him back." Natalie called out loudly, making sure her voice made it through the distance.

Emilie looked over her shoulder, her forest green eyes stared back at Natalie in horror. The teen in her arms peaked as well, his eyes being a mirror image of his mother's. Desperate to reach them, Natalie sharpened the angle of the baton and extended it's reach even farther. She barreled into the mother and son. All three of them tumbled out of the sky and into the burning building.

….

Somehow both Natalie and his mom took the brunt of the impact as they fell through the charred roof and into the fire. They were on the second floor of the house, more specifically, Adrien's room. Adrien grunted and wiggled himself free of both women. His lungs had already begun to fill with smoke, the fire around them was almost suffocating. The teen coughed, his eyes desperately searched for their escape path. They had to get out of the flames.

"I won't let you take him away." A horsed voice shouted. Adrien felt the floorboards tremble as Natalie tackled his mom.

His mom kicked Natalie away and summoned a white energy shield as their former assistant came in for another attack. The teen wanted to help, he wanted to stop the fight and tell them they needed to escape, but he didn't have his powers to protect him. He was as helpless as a kitten. Natalie went in for another attack, and Adrien saw his mom take another swing with her shield.

"I'm _trying_ , Gabriel." His mom muttered as she dodged another attack from Natalie. "Natalie, hasn't this gone on long enough? Just let us go."

Natalie growled and shook her head furiously.

A groan came from the ceiling. All three looked at the ember red beam above them. The teen followed its path with his eyes and to his horror, it was right above his mother. Natalie had seen this too, and with a cry of triumph, she extended the baton fast enough to break it from its moorings. His mother's scream echoed in his ears.

"MOM!" Adrien choked out and ran to her. She had tried jumping out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough to save her legs from the falling beam. A lump came to his throat as his mother cried in pain.

"Now to make sure you don't get in my way anymore." Natalie tugged on the ends of her gloves, a look of triumph came to her face. "Cataclysm."

"NO." Adrien threw himself in front of his mother. She gave a protest and tugged at his clothing, trying to get him out of the way, but Adrien was firmly rooted in place.

A sneer came to Natalie's face. "Out of the way, Adrien. I won't let her bother us again."

"You've done a lot of things to me, Natalie." He told her. "I've forgiven you for all of them. Because I know there is good in you. If you hurt my mother, that's one thing I won't forgive. Natalie, please, it's still not too late to choose the right thing."

"Adrien." The woman croaked, the cataclysm still bubbling in her hand. Tears ran down the mask and rolled off her chin. "I've already lost _him_ , I don't want to lose you too."

"Then do the right thing."

Adrien wondered who this 'him' was she mentioned. Either way, it seemed as if Natalie had given up, she used the cataclysm to destroy the beam crushing his mother. Then Natalie frantically ripped the ring from her finger and gave it to him. Her sobs were muffled by the crackling of the fire. He didn't say anything, what exactly could he say.

"We need to get out of here." His mom slowly got to her feet, Adrien could see that part of her costume was singed. "The structure isn't going to hold much longer."

"I know you're tired, Plagg." Adrien choked. "Can you pleas transform me, just for a little bit."

The kwami obliged without protest.

Natalie scowled, looking pained as she crossed her arms over her chest. She looked like she was still wanting to fight. The teen gave a sigh and had both women grab onto him. He used his baton to shoot the three of them out of the crumbling house. Natalie sobbed a bit and pressed her face into the teen's shoulder as the full extent of the fire came into view.

The once large and beautiful cabin was withering away to cinders.

"It was almost perfect." She whispered.

They had only just landed when Adrien was scooped into a bone crushing hug by his father. Both Natalie and his mother had been pushed aside. Plagg who had been barely holding out, ended their transformation abruptly. Adrien barely managed to shoot his hand out to catch the kwami. His father ended his own transformation and muttered inaudibly into the teen's hair.

"Thank God," Adrien could feel his father's whole-body tremble with relief. A kiss was placed on the top of his head. "Adrien, I've been so worried."

"He was perfectly safe." Natalie scoffed. "And well cared for, I might add."

"I will deal with you later." Gabriel growled. Marinette came running at them, still garbed in her hero persona. "Miss. Dupain, if you would please detain her."

The spotted hero was quick to tie Natalie up before she let her transformation wear off. His father knew better than to get between Marinette and Adrien. Adrien hadn't been able to brace himself as the girl barreled him over. They landed so heavily into the snow that they were buried a few inches into the snow.

"Sorry, Adrien." She winced as she clamored off of him. He giggled and pulled her back into his arms. The blond didn't mind how cold the snow was making him, having Mari close made him feel happier than he had been in a long time

"You can run me over any time." He promised, her head was tucked neatly under his chin. The teen could feel her breath on his collar and her arms wrapping around his chest.

"Silly kitty." She mumbled into his shirt.

….

Things had moved quickly after that. Natalie had been sent to jail and Adrien was happily at home with his friends and family. His father had even planned an elaborate and luxurious Christmas party to celebrate his return. Ironically, him being found, it had been just in time for the holiday festivities. He was grateful to be home. Though, there was still a part of him that longed to redeem Natalie.

She had chosen to do the right thing in the end after all, so there was a part of her that was good.

Even with his friends and family downstairs, Adrien couldn't help but feel a tug in his heart. Natalie was all alone on Christmas. He loathed the idea of someone being so easily thrown away. The teen had every reason to hate her. But he didn't. He couldn't find it in himself to despise her. Nor did he feel she deserved to be cast aside like garbage.

The teen wanted to see her, even if it was just to wish her a Merry Christmas.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Plagg grumbled as Adrien threw his bedroom window open. "Your dad will blow a gasket if you go missing _again._ "

"No one should be alone on Christmas, Plagg." The teen argued. "Not even Natalie. She's family."

"Family doesn't kidnap you for a month."

Adrien rolled his eyes, Plagg was concerned, he knew that, but he'd be perfectly safe. "Just transform me."

As Chat Noir, Adrien bounded from roof to roof quickly. It'd take him a half-hour to get to the jail. As long as he didn't slip and fall that is. It had been so long since he had the freedom to just run as fast as he could, he couldn't help but feel giddy and let out joyful cries as he leapt through the air. The teen was so caught up in his fun he worried he might bypass the jail.

"Were you going to warn anyone before you went on this little escapade?" a familiar voice teased.

Adrien nearly missed a step when he landed but was easily able to compensate and came to a gentle stop on a rooftop, the prison was just in sight. Ladybug stood before him, her arms were crossed, and she had a gentle smile on her face. He wondered if she had seen him slip off into the night. The blond gave her a nervous grin and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was hoping to slip in and out unnoticed." He admitted.

A concerned look came to Mari's features, not even the night could distort it. "Why?"

"No one should be alone on Christmas." Adrien told her as he casted a glance to the gently lit windows of the prison. "Natalie's still family, even after everything she's done."

"You're too good for this world." Marinette sighed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Be careful, I'll try to keep your parent's from worrying, just don't be too long."

Adrien watched as she swung back toward the Agreste mansion. He really did have the best girlfriend.

 **Happy New year!**


	6. Of Friends and Fans

**Hey, here's my next story, I hope you guys enjoy it! If you have any suggestions for a one-shot let me know and I'll try to write it as fast as I can.**

 **Disclaimer I don't own Miraculous Ladybug, all rights belong to Thomas and his team**.

Adrien never really expected to see Wayhem at his school. Sure, he and the other boy shared e-mails back and forth, but the other teen never warned about a visit. As far as Adrien could remember Wayhem went to another school. And for as much as they talked on the internet, it didn't seem to completely subside the boy's admiration for him. It hadn't in the slightest.

The blond had been enjoying the last few moments of school talking with Nino and his other friends. He already had plans with Nino. His father had actually agreed to let Adrien spend a few hours at his friend's house. It was a rare blessing, so he didn't want to ruin it. Nino was also stoked for some time with his 'best bro' too.

The two were about to head to the car waiting out front for them when they had been interrupted.

"ADRIEN!" Wayhem's shrill voice rang through the school courtyard. Before Adrien could even turn to the source of the voice, he was captured in a familiar vice grip.

Adrien tried his best to speak through the air being crushed from his lungs. "Hey...Wayhem."

Gorilla, a man who always took his job seriously, was quick to run into the school and pull the brunette off of his charge. The teen only gave a half yelp as he was thrown roughly to the side. Adrien quickly stopped his bodyguard from taking further action. The man gave a skeptical look but relented.

"Uh...is this the one guy you were telling me about, dude?" Nino pointed at Wayhem with an arched eyebrow. Marinette and Alya seemed a bit startled by Wayhem's behavior.

Upon hearing Nino's question, a new bout of energy seemed to go through the downed teen. "Adrien talks about me? OMG this is the best day of my life!"

Adrien rubbed his still smarting ribs. He wondered what Whayem was doing at his school. They hadn't arranged to meet each other or talk outside of E-mails. If he had, he would have warned the teen that it was hard to convince his dad to let him hang out with many people. Just being able to spend time with his school friends required a monumental effort and Gabriel feeling generous.

"Yeah, he's told me about you." Nino began skeptically, he had a strange look in his eyes. "You helped him when Gorilla was akumatized."

Whayem nodded and pulled a cut out of Adrien's head from his bag. The blond could still see his e-mail address written across the top. "He even gave me his e-mail after words. We've been talking. We're best friends. Right, Adrien?"

"Yeah, we're friends." Adrien agreed with a smile.

"OMG! Adrien Agreste is my friend!" Wayhem cried out happily and went to give Adrien another hug. The Gorilla gave an angry grunt and cut the teen's rush short with his burly arm. Adrien was acutely aware of the other students watching them. "Anyway, Adrien, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? I promise I won't post anything or tell anyone where we're going."

Nino cleared his throat and placed his hand on Adrien's shoulder. "Sorry, dude. Adrien and I already have plans."

Adrien was led out by his friend and towards the awaiting car. His bodyguard followed close behind. It was obvious the man didn't trust Wayhem around Adrien. Though with Wayhem still acting like a crazed fan, the model could understand why. In spite of not being invited, the brunette persisted. He was desperate to spend time with Adrien.

"Maybe I could tag along?" Wayhem suggested. He ignored it when the Gorilla batted him away. "You know, we could be the three musketeers."

Nino opened the car door for Adrien. "I don't know, man, my parents are only expecting me to bring Adrien over and he can only hang for a few hours."

The blond looked at his friend in confusion. None of it was a lie. Nino sounded reasonable, but he also didn't sound like Nino. Adrien noted how Nino held his arm protectively in front of him. It was almost as if Nino was trying to be a barrier between Wayhem and him. This was a side of Nino that Adrien rarely got to see.

"But I..." the brunette protested. "I'm Adrien's friend too, I want to spend time with him."

"Sorry, Wayhem." Adrien apologized. "Maybe another time."

"Yeah." the teen agreed softly, looking disheartened as he did so. "Another time."

Adrien felt bad as they rode off. He didn't like disappointing people, especially when Hawkmoth made it his mission to use those people for his own purposes. At first Nino was quiet, slumped over with a pinched up look on his face. His mind seemed to be running a mile a minute. What was going on with the aspiring DJ?

"Are you okay, Nino?"

His friend gave a sigh as he ran his hands over his face. "I didn't mean to seem harsh to him. It's just, your dad barely agreed to give us time to hang out today. And I... I...I don't know, maybe I'm just selfish. I just want to hang out, you and me, dude."

"You're not selfish." Adrien assured him. The blond understood how frustrating it was to get his dad to agree to let him do anything. The time he was given to hang out with his friends was precious. "I'm sure Wayhem will understand."

…..

Wayhem stomped down the street angrily. How dare that jerk prevent him from spending time with Adrien? He saved Adrien's life after all. It wasn't out of order for him to be able to spend time with his idol. He wondered why Adrien's friend refused to let him come. Wayhem held tightly to his cut out of Adrien.

It was the closest thing to hanging out with the actual Adrien he was going to get.

He suddenly felt a new wave of negative energy wash over him. "Fanboy, I am Hawkmoth. A selfish boy is getting in the way of your friendship with your idol. I'm giving you the power to change that, in return I ask you give me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous."

A malicious smile came to Wayhem's face. He could finally hang out with Adrien Agreste. Just him and Paris's favorite model, no selfish friends getting in his way. "Of course, Hawkmoth."

He could hear the people around him gasping in shock as his transformation began. His outfit was now identical to the one Adrien wore, his curly hair had become styled like Adrien's too. The only difference was a pin on his collar with Adrien's face on it. It was more practical than carrying around a cut out of his idol. Wayhem gave a laugh before he took off in the direction Adrien had gone off in.

"Adrien, I'm coming for you." Fanboy called out gleefully.

The villain rushed through the city, ignoring the screaming people as he flew past. He had his eyes on his target, Fanboy could see Adrien sitting in the car. Next to...next to that other boy. His supposed friend. Oh, it made Fanboy so mad! It should be him sitting next to Adrien. HIM getting to spend time with his best friend.

Fanboy shot an attack at the tires of the car. He watched as it swerved and turned wildly out of control. The driver's face went blank in shock as he fought to keep the car from crashing. Adrien also looked scared, but Fanboy knew he'd protect the model. The car finally skidded to a stop in the middle of the street. Traffic in the city of Paris came to a halt.

….

Nino did his best to not throw up when the car went out of control. As they struggled with the g-force of the car's momentum, Nino couldn't help but feel annoyed. _Of course, an akuma would interrupt one of the rare days I can hang out with Adrien_. He thought bitterly as the car slowly came to a stop. The Gorilla looked back at the two of them, making sure they were alright.

Luckily, the accident wasn't too severe. Nino looked at Adrien, his friend was glaring out at their attacker. The DJ felt sick to his stomach when he realized the boy looked almost exactly like his friend. Well except for the face, skin, and hair color. It was Wayhem, he had been so mad about not joining them that he had become vulnerable to Hawkmoth's influence.

"This is all my fault, dude." Nino lamented.

Adrien shook his head, "No, Nino. My dad wouldn't have liked us to invite someone he hadn't met. You know how he is."

He knew Adrien was right. Gabriel Agreste wasn't exactly the most gracious when it came to his son's time, especially not when you did something without his permission. Wayhem lowered himself to the road, walking as if he were a model or something. The sick feeling in his stomach became worse when he realized the guy was trying to mimic Adrien. Adrien really needed to be careful with this guy, akumatized or not.

"Isn't this great, Adrien!" The boy called spinning to show off his replica Agreste look. "Now I look just like you. And we can hang out without your friend there hogging you all to himself."

Both teens scrambled out of the car in a hurry. Gorilla didn't seem to like that, he tried to chase after them, but Wayhem hit him with an attack, turning him into a less attractive copy of Adrien. Nino gasped and pulled Adrien with him as fast as he could. This guy was crazy! Wayhem chased after them with a feral cry.

Adrien and Nino bobbed and weaved through the stopped cars, trying desperately to out run Wayhem.

"Stop trying to take Adrien away from me!" Wayhem called and sent another attack.

It hit a car they were running past and caused a spectacular explosion. Both Adrien and Nino were knocked off their feet and into an alleyway. Nino grunted as he fought against the ringing in his ear. He couldn't hear anything, he couldn't move anything, he was helpless. Fear filled his chest when someone grabbed him by his backpack strap. He fought and squirmed as he was dragged towards a trashcan, His back was pressed against the alley wall.

Nino looked up to see a blurry outline of Adrien. His friend stopped dragging him and started to cover him in boxes and garbage bags. The teen was too disoriented to do anything, even when the ringing faded from his ears. Nino wondered what Adrien was doing. He tried to ask but his mouth couldn't seem to work. The explosion had made his muscles useless, he couldn't even lift the garbage off of himself at the moment. Adrien placed one last piece of garbage on him and everything became dark and smelly.

"Stay quiet." he heard Adrien whisper. Nino wanted to move, to protect his friend, but he couldn't. He felt so useless. The pungent taste of the garbage started filling his mouth, making the situation far more uncomfortable.

"There you are, Adrien." Wayhem's voice reached Nino's ears. The teen tried to jerk around, to do something to help his friend, but his body felt like led. "Where is that...that...jerk? The one who wouldn't let us hang out."

"Wayhem. You need to calm down." Adrien soothed, using that tone that always seemed to make people relax around him. "This isn't you."

"You're right." Wayhem laughed. It was almost as annoying to Nino as the ringing in his ear. "I am no longer 'Wayhem', I am Fanboy. Now Adrien, tell me where that supposed 'friend' of yours is."

Nino felt his heart race. He needed to protect Adrien from this guy. From the very beginning he had gotten a weird feeling about Wayhem. Or was it just that Nino was jealous? Either way, Adrien needed Nino to help him. The DJ wished he had access to Wayzz. Then he could become Carapace and he'd really be able to keep his best bro safe.

"He's gone." Adrien lied smoothly. "He ran away before you got here. He climbed this latter to safety."

Fanboy gave a hum of disapproval, Nino was sure the villain was tapping his chin in thought. "And he left you alone to face me? He seems like a bad friend, Adrien. But don't worry, I'm going to be your new best friend. Your only friend."

"Wayhem, please listen to... Ahh...!" Adrien's plea was cut off by a yelp of surprise.

Nino could hear a struggle and then all went silent. He felt his heart drop when he realized that Fanboy must have taken Adrien. Why had Nino been so lame? The teen blamed himself. Adrien was in danger because of him, because of his selfishness. Nino considered Adrien to be his brother. And as a result, Nino tended to become protective.

Nino begrudgingly realized this was how Nora felt towards Alya.

After a moment, way too long for Nino's liking, he managed to dig himself out of the pile of trash. Cans and other small items clanked on the brick beneath him. He was beginning to believe that was where he belonged. If he couldn't protect those he loved, he was worthless. The teen stumbled out of the alleyway to see Ladybug was already on the case, she was fighting Fanboy with all her might. Nino searched for any sign of Adrien.

He found his friend, trapped in a pink bubble and out cold.

Rage filled Nino's chest, he grabbed the closest thing he could find, a piece from the car that had blown up. First Alya, now Adrien. With or without his costume, Nino was not about to leave one of his friends in a dangerous situation. Adrenalin coursed through the teens veins and pushed out the last of the fog in his head. Nino ran towards his friend and the overzealous fan.

"Let go of my friend, you freak!" Nino cried as he took a swing at the prison that held Adrien.

The metal pipe bounced harmlessly off the bubble, it had absolutely no effect. It hadn't even stirred Adrien awake. To his horror, Adrien was covered in scrapes and burns, looking far more disheveled than Nino had ever seen the prim and proper Adrien Agreste. He cursed Fanboy under his breath. The other teen claimed he wanted to be Adrien's friend, yet he did this.

Fanboy turned to him with a devilish grin, "Ah, there you are, Friend Stealer. I thought you had abandoned poor Adrien here."

"I'll never abandon my friends!" Nino shouted and made another attempt to break the bubble. "Especially not him."

"Capture him, my legion of Fans." The villain pointed at the teen. "Protect, our precious Adrien Agreste!"

A bunch of people came rushing out from nowhere. All of them were dressed like Fanboy, like Adrien. They adorned the famous Agreste clothing and the same neatly placed hair style. It just took the whole thing to a new level of weird. Nino was forced to back away from his friend as the imperfect look-a-likes of Adrien surrounded him.

"Nino!" Ladybug shouted. She swooped down and plucked him from the hoard of cosplayers. He wanted to get free, to go back and try yet again to free Adrien from his obsessive fan, but Ladybug had taken him too high in the air.

"I need to help my bro." Nino protested as she took him farther and farther away.

"No, you need to let Chat Noir and I handle this." Ladybug insisted.

"But he's not here yet!" Nino threw his hands into the air. He needed to convince Ladybug to give him his miraculous. "Maybe something's wrong, Chat is usually on top of these things. I'm here, Ladybug. Get Wayzz and let me help!"

Ladybug squinted at him. She clearly looked conflicted. They didn't have time to argue back and forth about how to defeat Fanboy. Adrien was in danger. Nino watched on impatiently as Ladybug called for the cat themed hero. The worried scowl on her face told him that she couldn't get in touch with her partner.

"Listen, Ladydude. You can try to stop me all you want, but I'm going to try and save Adrien with or without the miraculous." He warned her.

The hero made another attempt to call her partner before she relented. "Fine, only until Chat shows up. Got it. Wait here and stay out of sight."

Nino cheered internally as she swung off. He couldn't believe she had actually gotten her to agree to let him join the fight, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The teen looked down to the street, it was loaded with Fanboy's minions. All of them still dressed like Adrien. It was too surreal, too disturbing.

Hopefully Ladybug returned with his miraculous soon.

…..

Adrien woke up to a splitting headache and pain prickling all over his body. He had hidden Nino in a pile of garbage in hopes of hiding him from Way-Fanboy. It worked, but Fanboy had attempted to grab _him._ When Adrien tried to run, he was thrown into an alley wall. Already disoriented by the car explosion, Adrien passed out rather quickly.

Blinking blearily, the teen tried to take in his surroundings. At first, everything was pink, he feared he suffered some sort of damage to his eyes from the explosion. The teen sat up, rubbing his throbbing head as he did so. He didn't know where Fanboy had taken him or if the akumatized teen had found where Nino was. Adrien frowned when his vision cleared.

He was in a pink bubble with no foreseeable way out.

The bubble he was trapped in was floating harmlessly in his own bedroom. What a joke, a double prison. His room looked relatively untouched. Adrien was surprised to hear the idle music of his favorite game coming to his ears. Someone had been playing it. Two of his controllers laid abandoned on the couch.

"Oh, good." Fanboy's voice came through, a bit distorted by the bubble wall. "You're awake."

The boy had been going through Adrien's computer, looking at old family photos that were on the desktop. It felt rather invasive. Especially so when a picture of Adrien and his mom was enlarged on the monitor. Adrien wondered why Fanboy wasn't out searching for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Hawkmoth never let his villains have this long of a leeway.

"What's going on, Wayhem?" Adrien asked as he shook the bubble. It was sturdy and way too small for the blonde's liking. He was starting to feel claw-sterphobic.

"Well after saving that jerk, Ladybug scampered off somewhere." Fanboy shrugged as he walked towards Adrien. "I'm just waiting for her and the cat to show back up. Until then we can hang out. Just you and me, Adrien."

Adrien had a pained scowl on his face, "I'm sorry about earlier, Wayhem. It's not that I don't want to hang out with you. I just rarely get any time to hang out with anyone. The time I do get...I have to do everything I can to make sure my dad doesn't have a reason to say no. Nino and I had actually managed to get my dad to let me go to his house."

"The name is Fanboy." Fanboy snapped irritably. Adrien scooted back as far as his bubble prison would let him. The villain's face softened a fraction. "Sorry, Adrien. I know that it isn't your fault. It's that jerk who bosses you around."

The blond had to bite his lip from asking if Wayhem meant his father. Of course, Adrien knew that he was referring to Nino, but unfortunately Adrien's dad fit the description a bit better. Wayhem walked up with a sympathetic look on his face and he gave the bubble a gentle knock. Adrien felt like he was in a fish tank. He hated tight spaces, feeling enclosed.

"Don't look so glum, best friend." Fanboy tried to be soothing. "I've got one of your video games set up for two players. We can pass the time waiting for those heroes to get on with their game."

Wayhem snapped his fingers and the bubble, not so graciously, dropped Adrien to the floor. The model winced as he rubbed his smarting back. The hard floor was definitely not pleasant to fall unprepared on. Adrien yelped in surprise as Fanboy hauled him to his feet and dragged him to the couch. Before the teen knew it, he had a controller shoved into his hands and he was playing 'Smash Brotherhood'.

"Isn't this fun, Adrien?" Fanboy asked with a silly grin on his face. He didn't seem to realize being abducted and forced to play video games wasn't actually fun.

"Sure...loads." Adrien lied. He needed to get away from Wayhem and transform so that Ladybug wasn't fighting alone. Fanboy was focused on the game, he wasn't exactly the best player. Either that, or as Adrien feared, he was trying to lose to make Adrien like him. "Uh...I'm going to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."

"Okay, Adrien!"

It was a relief to see that Wayhem didn't suspect anything. He could call upon Plagg and escape out the bathroom window. Adrien could feel his kwamii stirring restlessly in his shirt pocket. The teen knew how Plagg was when they were cornered, if it weren't for the need to keep his identity a secret, Plagg would have destroyed the bubble long before Fanboy had carried them off. Adrien could hear the idle music of his game playing as he walked away.

Plagg didn't waste a second to pop out of the teen's shirt. "Oh man, Adrien. I was so worried, when you were knocked out. You didn't wake up for a long time. Are you okay?"

Adrien smiled when the cat kwamii gave him a hug. "I'm fine, Plagg, but we better go out and meet up with Ladybug."

The teen opened the bathroom window and just let himself enjoy the moving air on his face. He enjoyed the feeling of freedom, the wind on his face assuring him that it would never hold him back. Adrien was just about tell Plagg to transform him when a pink shield formed over the open window. The wind disappeared.

"Sorry about that, Adrien." Wayhem called through the door. "Ladybug and that green hero showed up. I've got to get those miraculous, but you wait here, I'll be right back."

Adrien felt his heart sink, he wasn't sure if it was because he was trapped and not able to help Ladybug or because she had already called upon Carapace for help. She had to because he failed to show up. Plagg gave the blond a sympathetic look. Both kwamii and boy hated to be restrained, they hated to be caged.

"We need to get out of here Plagg." Adrien muttered.

….

Nino wouldn't lie. Being Carapace again was the best feeling in the world. When Ladybug had returned, the kwamii gave a cheerful greeting before allowing the teen to transform. The two of them took off in search of Fanboy and Adrien. Because of Fanboy's power, the streets were full of people mimicking Adrien. Mimicking everything about him. From the way he walked to how he talked to others.

It was an Adrien Agreste version of a zombie apocalypse.

"Can you tell me how this happened?" Ladybug asked. They were bounding from rooftop to rooftop in hopes Fanboy would make his location known. "Why is this guy after you? Why did he take Adrien?"

Nino frowned, "Well, me and Adrien had finally managed to get his dad to let him hang out at my house. This guy, Wayhem, showed up and wanted to hang out with Adrien. I said my parents wouldn't go for more people coming over. I also was afraid Gabriel Agreste would get mad if the plans changed. But...I think it's mainly because I wanted it to just be me and Adrien. I don't get to spend much time with him outside of school, if any."

Ladybug didn't lecture him about being nicer to people or anything like that. She almost looked sad. Maybe she also had someone she couldn't spend much time with too. Chat Noir? As far as he knew, Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't see one another outside their battles against the akumas or their nightly patrols. Maybe that was who she was thinking about.

After all, they were Paris's favorite love birds. Even if they denied it.

"I'm sure whatever Chat Noir is doing right now is important." Nino assured her.

"Yeah." She agreed. "It's just, times like these make me wish I could talk to him when he's outside of costume. Know where he is and if he needs my help."

Nino looked down into an alley as they jumped over it. It was filled with garbage, hidden away from public view. That was where he had lost Adrien. It was a painful reminder of his failure. He sometimes forgot how selfless his friend was. Because of Adrien's sacrifice, Nino had no idea where Fanboy had taken the other teen.

"Well, well, well, Ladybug." A familiar voice sneered. Fanboy rose above the city line. "It's about time you showed up. Where's the cat? Did he use up all of his nine lives?"

"I'm sure Chat is on his way." Ladybug shot back. "Where is Adrien?"

Fanboy had an air of disinterest about him, "Don't worry, I've put him somewhere safe. If you two give me your miraculous, I can get back to him."

"Not a chance!" Nino shouted and threw his shield at the villain.

Fanboy dodged and threw his own attack at Nino. Ladybug was quick to tackle him down before the attack hit. This battle with Fanboy was going to be different than fighting Anasi, she didn't have any strategy or forethought when she attacked. The teen knew this villain wouldn't be folly to the same mistakes. And without someone as experienced as Chat Noir by her side, Ladybug was going to have a harder time. But Nino was willing to try his best to help.

Both heroes fought hard to try and get Fanboy's akuma possessed object, but they couldn't seem to figure out what it was. Nino grit his teeth and narrowly avoided being hit by yet another one of Fanboy's attacks. His luck could only last so long. They needed to find that akuma. He and Ladybug tried to regroup, but Fanboy sent a blast at their feet and disoriented them. The villain wasted no time scooping Nino into the air.

"Now, where is your miraculous?" Fanboy pondered as he inspected the hero.

Nino squirmed and struggled to get free as he was taken higher and higher into the air. Turtles couldn't fly and neither could he. It wasn't until they were a bit above the city scape that Nino realized how close they were to the Agreste mansion. He noticed a pink bubble surrounded Adrien's room specifically. That was where Adrien was being held.

Fanboy grabbed Nino by his wrist and dropped the rest of him. He finally realized where his miraculous was.

"I know it's not a cat, Hawkmoth, but it's still a miraculous."

Just as the villain was trying to pull the bracelet off, there was an explosion. To Nino's horror, it was at Adrien's house. The pink bubble evaporated, and that part of the building began to crumble. Adrien was in there, with no way to defend himself. Had Fanboy done that? The shocked look on his face said otherwise. Fanboy forgot about the bracelet and dropped Nino in a frenzy to get to the Agreste mansion.

"ADRIEN!" He wailed as he dove into the debris.

Nino wanted to scream his friend's name too. His best friend had been so close, he needed help and Nino had been useless. The green hero fell helplessly towards the ground. Ladybug caught him of course, her blue eyes were a lit with fear. The hero made a distressed whine at the back of her throat as she looked up at the smoke coming from the Agreste mansion.

"We've got to help him." Nino choked out when Ladybug let him go.

The two heroes rushed to the source of the explosion. Adrien's room was nothing more than rubble, the upper floor walkway was sloping down pitifully. All of Adrien's books and DVD's were scattered on the floor. The room was devastatingly unrecognizable. Fanboy was on his knees, desperately trying to find any sign of Adrien. A butterfly mask as aglow on his face.

"I'm on it, Hawkmoth." Fanboy muttered before the mask faded.

Ladybug was quick to join him, searching through the rubble in a fury too. Her eyes were looking teary. Nino used his shield to break up chunk after chunk of rubble, some pieces looked black and rotten. Odd. There was still no luck. Suddenly Adrien's bedroom door started trembling. The teen could hear Gabriel Agreste hollering on the other side of the door.

Nino moved some rubble and the door swung open with a vengeance.

"ADRIEN!" Gabriel threw himself at the rubble, desperately working to unbury his son. His assistant, Natalie, followed.

It didn't occur to Nino to wonder how the man knew his son had been in the room, but he didn't feel like asking either. Adrien needed all the help he could get. Nino tried not to cry as any hope of finding Adrien alive and alright were dwindling down. No human could withstand the heavy rubble for too long.

"Villains and heroes working together?" A familiar voice chirped. "I can dig it."

Chat Noir landed smoothly on the rubble. He didn't look concerned at all. Nino was used to seeing the non-chalet attitude that the cat themed hero had, but seeing it in such a dire situation made the teen a bit annoyed. Adrien could be crushed under a heavy slab, struggling for breath and dying under their feet.

"This is serious, kitty." Ladybug chided. "A civilian is buried under this debris. We need to save him."

Nino still couldn't see a lick of concern on the cat hero's face. The very thought that the hero wasn't taking the situation seriously enough made the DJ mad. Chat pulled them up from the ground. The villain and Adrien's dad kept digging. Desperate to save the blond.

"He's fine, M' lady, I had to destroy the barrier, I got him out in time."

Both Nino and Ladybug let out a breath they hadn't realized they had been holding. Adrien was safe, what a relief. As much as Nino wanted to see his friend for himself, there was still the task of depowering Fanboy. The three heroes turned their attention to the villain who had still been sifting through the rubble. Nino wondered if, even as a villain, Fanboy did care about Adrien's overall wellbeing.

Gabriel was also toiling through the crumbled remains of the bed room; his face held more emotion than the teen thought the man could have. He looked close to tears. Maybe they hadn't heard what Chat had told them. Worry tended to make one have a narrowed focus.

"I'm glad he's okay." Ladybug's voice was shaking with relief. Nino couldn't bring himself to say anything, he figured he'd be crying if he tried. "Now we just have to find Fanboy's akuma."

Chat gently cupped his chin in his fingers. "Adrien said something about a cut out that the boy had earlier. Maybe that's his akumatized object."

How could Nino forget about that? That cardboard version of his friend's head had been the most off-putting thing about the other teen. Though, where could it have gone? Nino knew that Hawkmoth had the ability to transform any akumatized object into whatever he desired. When Nino gave the villain a closer look, he realized that there was a pin with Adrien's face on the collar of Fanboy's shirt.

"It's a pin now." Nino pointed out. "It's on his shirt collar."

"On it." Chat grinned before charging at Fanboy.

Fanboy dodged and sent an attack flying wildly in Chat's general direction. The agile cat dodged it easily. It was ridiculous to think he could hit Chat. Unfortunately, the blast was still flying through the air, flying towards Gabriel and Natalie. Nino leapt into action, calling upon his power to shield him and the two civilians.

"You should be finding my son." Gabriel hissed, not at all seeming happy about being saved by Carapace. "Don't worry about us."

"Adrien is fine, d..., Mr. Agreste." Nino swallowed his urge to call the man dude. "Chat Noir saved him."

"Give that back, get off of me." Fanboy protested. "Adrien will die because of you."

Nino turned to see Chat trying to wrestle the villain to the ground. He had a spool of spotted ribbon in his hands and he proceeded to tie the flailing villain up. The turtle themed hero couldn't help but be amazed at how good Ladybug and Chat Noir worked together.

The cat hero tossed the pin to Ladybug, "Let's try not to pin the blame on anyone."

"We really stuck it to Hawkmoth this time, didn't we kitty." She giggled as she broke the pin. A black and purple butterfly fled from the broken object.

With a practiced throw, Ladybug captured the Akuma in her Yo-Yo and released it once its negative energy had been cleansed. She then took the ribbon tying Fanboy and tossed it into the air, the barrage of magic swept through the city and once again everything was normal. Adrien's room was once again back to its stunning glory.

"Pound it." Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a celebratory moment before all three of the miraculous started beeping. "We better go you guys."

Chat went one way while Nino and Ladybug diverted the other. Nino wanted to hurry, he wanted to see that Adrien was okay for himself. Once they were a safe enough distance away from the Agreste manor, he de-transformed and gave the bracelet back to Ladybug.

"Thank you for giving me a chance to help." Nino told her. "I just wish I had done more to protect Adrien. He protected me and he didn't even have powers."

Ladybug smiled and pat him on the shoulder, "If I recall correctly, you ignored a villain that was targeting you to free your friend _before_ I let you borrow the Miraculous. That's pretty heroic too. Never forget that."

"Thanks, Ladydude."

The heroin smiled and took off. She was a cool chick. Nino didn't know why, but she reminded him of someone. But who? Before he could contemplate it further, Nino received a phone call from Adrien. A flood of relief washed over the teen.

"Dude, are you okay?" He spewed out quickly.

Adrien laughed, "Yeah, Nino, I'm fine. What about you? Where are you?"

"I'm on a roof." He explained. "Ladybug had to pull me out of the fight when I tried to free you from Fanboy. It was either stay here or try to maneuver through a bunch of look a-likes. Let's meet up back at the school."

"I'll see you there."

After a long and boring walk, Nino finally made it to the school, Adrien was already waiting out front for him. The smile on the blond teen's face somehow seemed to chase off any remaining anxiety Nino had about the situation with Fanboy. The tan teen glomped his friend in a hug.

"Bro, I'm glad you're okay!"

Adrien hugged him back and told him that Gabriel agreed that they could still hang out for the day. Nino was both surprised and thrilled. He had been sure that the man would revoke their allotted time to hang out and bubble wrap Adrien once again. The two teens began to walk back to the Agreste limo when a familiar voice called once more.

"ADRIEN!"

Wayhem came running up to them at full speed. Every protective instinct that Nino had made the teen step defensively in front of his friend. The eccentric teen came to a quick halt, barely avoiding a crash with Nino. When Gorilla saw Wayhem, the very boy who had attacked his charge, he wasted no time grabbing the kid by the collar of his shirt.

"Gorilla, it's fine." Adrien soothed. "He won't hurt me. What's wrong Wayhem?"

Wayhem's eyes were wide with fear as the brute slowly set him on his feet. "I….I wanted to apologize, I should have never gotten mad that you couldn't hang out with me. I'm sorry I ruined your guys plans for today. That's all I wanted to say."

Nino sighed as the teen sadly walked away. "Wait, Wayhem."

The other teen turned and had a hopeful look in his eyes. Nino wasn't sure if he was going to make the right decision here.

"Maybe you can hang out with us another time. Just let Adrien know ahead of time so that he can ask his dad." Nino told him. "Maybe, if you treat Adrien like a normal person, we can become good friends."

"I think I'd like that."

 **Also, I'm not trying to make Adrien seem weak, sorry if it seems like that's what I'm doing. My next story idea shows his true potential.**


	7. Carousel

**Hey guys. I _know_ that I said I would be displaying more of Adrien's potential in my last chapter. But I'm still working on that story and I like how it's going, but it is going to be one of those longer chapters so it may take me a bit of time to get that done. It has been nearly a year since I updated. Damn. Time flies. Especially if your 2019 went anything like mine. Anyway, I've had a bunch of one shot ideas that I've been working on. I actually enjoy this one. **

**It's kind of my Chloe redemption. If I were working on the actual MLB I would work on evolving Chloe's feelings towards Adrien. From a romantic interest to almost a maternal/ sisterly relationship. I feel like Adrien would never have romantic interest in her because he sees her as family.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I _am_ working on chapters that display Adrien's strengths.**

 **As always, Thomas and his team are the creators of MLB not me TnT**

Adrien stared out at the school courtyard from his spot by the wall. His classmates and their dads were all hustling around the school to decorate it for the party. Their _Mother's Day_ party. It was Marinette's idea. Like all her ideas, it was brilliant, but Adrien couldn't bring himself to feel festive. He liked to see all his friends happy; he just couldn't muster up a smile. Not today.

He didn't have a mother to celebrate the holiday with.

No one pushed him to help, they were all too busy hanging banners and setting up tables loaded with food from the Dupain-Chang bakery. Even the mayor commissioned some of his hotel's chefs to cater the event. It really looked perfect with all the brightly colored streamers filling the place. His mom would have loved it. Marinette was hustling around, doing her best to make sure it was all perfect for when everyone's mothers arrived.

She reminded him of his mom. When someone needed to take charge, his mom was always ready to put everything into order. Marinette noticed him staring, a strange smile came to her face as she waved at him. Adrien felt a strange pull in his chest as he waved back. He really wondered how she felt about him at times.

The girl looked like she wanted to come talk to him, but Ivan dropped some colorful ribbon and she rushed to help him collect it all. He smiled; Marinette was really a good person. A bit hot-headed at times, but she was really an everyday Ladybug. Making magic happen, even without a kwamii.

Adrien felt his phone buzz a reminder for him. He heard his mother's voice coming through the speaker. It had been so long since he had heard it, he had almost forgot how it sounded. _"It's Mother's Day, Adrien. Meaning I'm going to spend the whole day with you! Don't forget, sweetie. Well, you won't because I've set this reminder, but nevertheless, we're going to have so much fun today!"_

 _"_ _Mom, what are you doing?"_ Adrien heard his own voice chuckle.

" _Just reminding you that your mother loves you so much."_

 _"_ _I love you too."_

Adrien felt his lip quiver as he stopped the recording. He pinched his arm and tried to pull himself together. He didn't need to be crying at school, and he didn't want to be fodder for Hawkmoth's next akuma. The teen felt the tears fall regardless. He hated not knowing where she was. The thoughts of what could have happened to her made him sick. What if she was kidnapped? Dead? Held hostage somewhere and unable to escape? What kind of hero was he if he couldn't even save his own mom?

As soon as Adrien realized he wasn't going to keep his composure, he tucked his face into his knees and childishly hoped it would make him invisible to everyone else at the school. He welcomed the disconnect from the world around him. The darkness that seemed to make everything dissolve away.

"Adriekins, what are you doing on the dirty ground?"

Almost everything.

"Not now, Chloe." He muttered into his legs. There was a sting of annoyance, of course Chloe wasn't going to ignore him, but he wanted to give it his best shot. "Please."

She didn't speak again, but she didn't choose to move away either. Adrien expected her to go into a ramble about something she found objectionable or complain about Marinette's choice of colors. Instead she sat next to him on the ' _dirty ground'_. He tilted his head to see her just sitting there, her eyes became glassy as she looked at him. For the first time in years, she looked like the Chloe he grew up with.

Soft, gentle, and caring.

Chloe placidly brushed his hair from his face. "You miss her, don't you?"

A lump formed in Adrien's throat; he couldn't speak. If he tried, he would be an uncontrollable mess. When he lost his mom, he also seemed to have lost his dad too. Nothing was the same and no matter how hard he tried; he couldn't fix it. Chloe continued to brush his hair with her fingers, for once he wasn't going to shun her affection. It seemed to make him feel calmer.

"You don't have to say anything, Adrien." She told him and wiped away a stray tear from his cheek. "I know how you feel. It hurts more than anything in the world. And today isn't an easy day either."

She _did_ know how he felt. The only difference was that her mom constantly voiced her displeasure for her mundane marriage and her own child. Adrien knew that his mom loved him and their family. Adrien remembered the day Audrey had walked out on Chloe. That was the day that changed his friend, probably forever. The day that Chloe became a different person.

…..

 _"_ _Mommy! Mommy!"_ Chloe shouted. She had turned away from their game to follow her mother towards the door. _"Mommy, where are you going?"_

 _"_ _Go play with your friend, Katie."_ Audrey brushed her own daughter aside as she huffed out of the hotel. _"This place is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!"_

…..

Adrien opened his mouth to say something. To apologize for never truly understanding what she had been going through until now. She placed a finger on his lips and stopped him from saying anything. Chloe shook her head, already knowing what he was going to say. A warmth filled Adrien's chest when he realized that this was the real Chloe, _his_ best friend. One he hadn't seen in so long.

They sat in silence for the longest time; watching their classmates finish setting up for the party. It wasn't too long before some of the mothers started to arrive. Every mom except for two. Adrien looked at Chloe. Despite everything, she was still eagerly searching the crowd for her own mom. Of course, this was not a place Audrey Bourgeois would allow herself to be seen in.

Fame made the woman cruel.

Even well into the festivities of the Mother's Day party, Chloe's mom failed to show up. The blond clenched her fist on her lap, her eyes overflowing with tears. Adrien reached out and placed his on hers. She relaxed her hand and the rest of her body went limp. She let a tear fall before she angerly brushed it away and got to her feet.

"How about we get out of here, Adrien?" She held her hand out for him. "We can go to the carousel or something."

Adrien grabbed her hand and let her pull him to his feet. "We might get in trouble."

"We're not going far, I'll let Daddy know." Chloe assured him as they crossed the courtyard.

….

Adrien thought Chloe considered herself too important and too _mature_ for the ride, but before he knew it the two of them were sitting on brightly colored horses and taking in the fresh air. The mayor's daughter giggled as the carnival music blared in their ears and the ride spun them around. She was fully seizing the moment and letting herself be distracted from her troubles. Adrien smiled at her.

 _Yeah, this was the Chloe no one knew._

She wasn't worried about her hair. She wasn't worried about impressing anyone. She was just letting herself enjoy something as simple as a kiddie ride. Adrien felt his own worries start to bubble away as well. He was taken back to a time where they enjoyed playing pretend and taking the Bourgeois hotel by storm. Chloe gave him a big grin and he felt a light giggle escape him.

"You should see the look on your face, Adrien Agreste." She shouted over the music. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually enjoying spending time with me."

He rolled his eyes at her and stuck his tongue out. Chloe childishly retaliated with a raspberry of her own. This was the most relaxed he'd felt around her in a long time. There was no arguing, no belittling someone else, no Akuma victim. They went on the carousel at least a dozen times before they finally decided to head back to the school. Both stumbling dizzily as they walked back.

"Where have you two been?" Alya asked as they were walking towards the steps.

Adrien could see other kids shuffling out and leaving the school with their parents. The party had been cleaned up and all that was left was a small group of people chatting with one another. Alya arched an eyebrow at Chloe; Adrien realized that the girl's ponytail had let a few strands stray from the hair-tie and curl around her head.

"None of your business!" Chloe crossed her arms defensively. She saw her father standing at the top of the school steps talking to reporters. Most likely about the party. "I'm going to ask my dad if we can leave. Thanks for hanging out with me, Adrikins."

Adrien grabbed her hand mid-step. Chloe's blue eyes widen in shock, "Thank you, Chloe."

A blush creeped up to the girl's face. "Don't mention it."

Alya went wide eyed as Chloe continued to walk towards her father. "You're thanking _Chloe_?"

"Sometimes there's more to a person than what you see." Adrien told her as he smiled at his friend's retreating form. True to form, Chloe began making loud demands towards her father and stomping her feet like a child. The blond knew, however, that wasn't all there was to Chloe. She reminded him of that. "You just have to be looking hard enough."

"I wish the world had your eyes, Adrien." Alya told him with a smile before she grabbed his arm. "Come on, I think Marinette saved you some cake."


End file.
